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International security analyst Nafeez Ahmed claims GIA atrocities were in fact perpetrated by the state.

He claims ‘ Yussuf-Joseph ’, a career secret agent in Algeria ’ s sécurité militaire for 14 years, defected to Britain in 1997 and told the Guardian that civilian massacres in Algeria, blamed on the GIA, were ‘ the work of secret police and army death squads … not Islamic extremists ’.

GIA terrorism was ‘ orchestrated ’ by ‘ Mohammed Mediane, head of the Algerian secret service ’, and ‘ General Smain Lamari ’, head of ‘ the counter intelligence agency ’.

According to Ahmed ' Joseph ' says: ‘ The GIA is a pure product of Smain ’ s secret service.

I used to read all the secret telexes.

I know that the GIA has been infiltrated and manipulated by the Government.

The GIA has been completely turned by the Government … In 1992 Smain created a special group, L ’ Escadron de la Mort ( the Squadron of Death )… The death squads organize the massacres … The FIS aren ’ t doing the massacres .’