Clashes in Southern Algeria Leave One Dead

A man who was injured in clashes in southern Algeria, site of off-and-on confrontations between Berber and Arab communities, has died of his wounds, the country's national news agency said on Saturday.

The 33-year-old was wounded during clashes between groups of youths that began late on Friday in Berriane, according to the APS agency, and later died in the hospital.

Four other people were wounded in the clashes, APS reported. It added that riot police used tear gas to disperse the groups.

Berriane lies near the southern town of Ghardaia, in the M'Zab valley on the edge of the Sahara desert. The region has seen tensions rise sharply between its Mozabite, or Berber, and Chaamba, or Arab, communities after vandals destroyed a historic Berber shrine in December 2013.

Though the Mozabite and Chaamba communities have lived together for centuries, there have been off-and-on confrontations since the shrine was destroyed, with many dead and hundreds wounded.

The two sides have often clashed over property and land ownership.

Ghardaia, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) south of the capital Algiers, is a UNESCO world heritage site renowned for its traditional white-washed houses and bustling market, selling jewelry, carpets and leather.