Algeria emergency

Rioting in Algeria in October 1988 killed around 500 people and started a period of political turmoil. A short-lived experiment in democracy ended in a violent civil war between Islamists and the Algerian army. A state of emergency remains in force until today. Witness speaks to a foreign journalist and an Algerian student who both experienced a turning point in the country's history.

(Photo: Algiers citizens help to clean up the main avenue of the Belcourt area in Algiers 08 October 1988 after three days of rioting.) (Credit: STF/AFP/Getty Images)