Michelin Evacuates Employees’ Families from Algeria

Michelin has decided to evacuate the families of French nationals in its employ in Algeria because of concerns for their safety. The plans for their repatriation from the North African state were made after nine people, including two French nationals, were injured during an attack made upon a convoy of foreign workers in September. A group with al-Qaeda affiliations claimed responsibility for carrying out the attack.

Violence linked to terrorist activities has surged within Algeria this year, with dozens killed by suicide bombings in September alone. Recently al-Qaeda released a video in which second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri called for militant groups in North Africa to “cleanse” their lands of the Spanish and French.

The French tyre major said operations at its Hussein Dey facility in Algiers would continue and that those actually employed at the plant would remain in Algeria.