When Muslim extremists overran an oil and gas facility in Algeria's Sahara desert last month, Algerians saw the drama through the lens of their own painful history.
The news that terrorists had seized the In Amenas oil and gas plant stunned people in Algiers, the Algerian capital, who thought they'd seen the last of such attacks.
For most of the 1990s, a brutal civil war between Islamists and the military engulfed the country. More than 150,000 Algerians — mostly civilians — lost their lives in the violence. The oil site attack was a frightening reminder that things could re-ignite, says Adlene Meden, weekend editor of Al Watan newspaper.
"Algerian society was shocked by the attack for two reasons," he says. "It was the first time terrorists were able to take over a high-security energy site. And suddenly we found ourselves in a new war with terrorists, whether we wanted it or not."
But mixed with the fear was anger, says Meden.
The international community's reaction to the crisis irritated Algerians. The Western media characterized Algerian forces as brutal, as if they somehow adhered to different standards. Algerians complained that the West's tone was racist. Hostages were separated into two categories — foreigners and Algerians.
That prompted a wave of patriotism from a public that is usually anti-military, says Meden. Pictures and videos — such as one of Algerian special forces in training — became popular on Facebook.
The Legacy Of Algeria's Civil War
These days, Algiers is crawling with security, one of the consequences of the brutal war of the 1990s.
Houda Metaoui, a 42-year-old Algiers resident, says those were nightmare years.
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