Background
He was born in Oulkhou, in the relatively secular Kabylie region.
journalist literary critic writer poet
He was born in Oulkhou, in the relatively secular Kabylie region.
University of Algiers.
He was assassinated in 1993 by the Armed Islamic Group. He was assassinated by the Armed Islamic Group because of his support of secularism and opposition to what he considered fanaticism. He was attacked on May 26, 1993, as he was leaving his home in Bainem, Algeria.
He died on June 2, after lying in a coma for a week.
One of his attackers professed that he was murdered because he "wielded a fearsome pen that could have an effect on Islamic sectors."
After his death the British Broadcasting Corporation made a documentary about him entitled "Shooting the Writer", introduced by Salman Rushdie.