ALGERIAN troops carried out civilian massacres while disguised as rebels, shot suspects dead in cold blood and tortured rebels to death during the dirty war against Islamic militants in the 1990s, a former officer claims in a new book. The shocking allegations sparked calls for an international inquiry into the conduct of the former military regime in Algeria. Habib Souaidia revealed the dark underside of the Algerian army’s conduct during the fight against Islamic militants during and after the era of the military regime, reinforcing the suspicions of human rights activists about the army’s conduct of its war against Islamic extremists. – AFP