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7 January 2011
Last updated at 12:20 ET
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There has been sporadic rioting in Algeria since the new year
Fresh rioting has broken out in the Algerian capital and two other cities, after days of unrest over food price increases and unemployment.
Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths following Friday prayers in Algiers, while clashes were also reported in the eastern city of Annaba.
The riots have been linked to rising food prices, housing shortages, and wider social and political grievances.
Earlier, Algeria's football federation cancelled all this weekend's matches.
Football stadiums are one of the only places where people publicly voice their political frustrations, and matches are seen a potential catalyst for protests.
Government offices 'ransacked' The BBC's Mohamed Arezki Himeur in Algiers says there has been sporadic rioting in Algeria since the new year, when the price of many food products increased sharply.
But the protests intensified on Wednesday and Thursday, our correspondent says.
The riots also spread to Bab el-Oued, a working class district of the capital that was at the centre of the protest movement in 1988, at the beginning of a period of unrest that led to an Islamist insurgency in the 1990s.
Overnight, protesters ransacked government buildings, banks and post offices in "several eastern cities", including Constantine, Jijel, Setif and Bouira, according to the official APS news agency.
The unrest resumed on Friday despite the presence of riot police armed with tear gas and batons outside mosques in Algiers and along its main streets.
In the Belcourt district, youths threw stones at police after Friday prayers and set up road blocks, Reuters news agency reported.
Clashes also erupted for the first time in Annaba, about 550km (350 miles) east of the capital, where hundreds of people threw stones at police deployed outside government offices, according to AFP.
There was also fresh violence reported in Algeria's second city of Oran.
The riots are widely seen as drawing on deep frustrations with the ruling elite and a lack of political freedom, as well as more immediate concerns about the cost of living, housing, and jobs.
The prices of flour, cooking oil and sugar have doubled in the past few months.
However, Algeria's trade minister told a local state-run TV channel that following a meeting with wholesalers, the price of sugar and cooking oil would drop next week.
The official unemployment rate meanwhile stands at about 10%, although independent organisations say it is closer to 25%.
The riots in Algeria follow a period of rare unrest in neighbouring Tunisia.
The demonstrations in Tunisia began after a man set fire to himself on 17 December in the Sidi Bouzid region to protest against the police confiscating fruit and vegetables that he was selling without a permit.
At least three people have died in the ensuing violence.
Late on Thursday, Tunisian police arrested a rapper, Hamada Ben-Amor, who composed a song critical of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's rule, and at least one blogger.
Earlier in the week there were reports of cyber-attacks in support of Tunisian protesters.
Demonstrations are rare in Tunisia, where there are tight controls aimed at preventing dissent.
As in Algeria, the unrest has been linked to frustrations with the president and the ruling elite, as well as to concerns over jobs and living costs.
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.There has been sporadic rioting in Algeria since the new year
Fresh rioting has broken out in the Algerian capital and two other cities, after days of unrest over food price increases and unemployment.
Police fired tear gas at stone-throwing youths following Friday prayers in Algiers, while clashes were also reported in the eastern city of Annaba.
The riots have been linked to rising food prices, housing shortages, and wider social and political grievances.
Earlier, Algeria's football federation cancelled all this weekend's matches.
Football stadiums are one of the only places where people publicly voice their political frustrations, and matches are seen a potential catalyst for protests.
Government offices 'ransacked' The BBC's Mohamed Arezki Himeur in Algiers says there has been sporadic rioting in Algeria since the new year, when the price of many food products increased sharply.
But the protests intensified on Wednesday and Thursday, our correspondent says.
The riots also spread to Bab el-Oued, a working class district of the capital that was at the centre of the protest movement in 1988, at the beginning of a period of unrest that led to an Islamist insurgency in the 1990s.
Overnight, protesters ransacked government buildings, banks and post offices in "several eastern cities", including Constantine, Jijel, Setif and Bouira, according to the official APS news agency.
The unrest resumed on Friday despite the presence of riot police armed with tear gas and batons outside mosques in Algiers and along its main streets.
In the Belcourt district, youths threw stones at police after Friday prayers and set up road blocks, Reuters news agency reported.
Clashes also erupted for the first time in Annaba, about 550km (350 miles) east of the capital, where hundreds of people threw stones at police deployed outside government offices, according to AFP.
There was also fresh violence reported in Algeria's second city of Oran.
The riots are widely seen as drawing on deep frustrations with the ruling elite and a lack of political freedom, as well as more immediate concerns about the cost of living, housing, and jobs.
The prices of flour, cooking oil and sugar have doubled in the past few months.
However, Algeria's trade minister told a local state-run TV channel that following a meeting with wholesalers, the price of sugar and cooking oil would drop next week.
The official unemployment rate meanwhile stands at about 10%, although independent organisations say it is closer to 25%.
The riots in Algeria follow a period of rare unrest in neighbouring Tunisia.
The demonstrations in Tunisia began after a man set fire to himself on 17 December in the Sidi Bouzid region to protest against the police confiscating fruit and vegetables that he was selling without a permit.
At least three people have died in the ensuing violence.
Late on Thursday, Tunisian police arrested a rapper, Hamada Ben-Amor, who composed a song critical of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's rule, and at least one blogger.
Earlier in the week there were reports of cyber-attacks in support of Tunisian protesters.
Demonstrations are rare in Tunisia, where there are tight controls aimed at preventing dissent.
As in Algeria, the unrest has been linked to frustrations with the president and the ruling elite, as well as to concerns over jobs and living costs.
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