Algeria Ends the Hostage Crisis

Four days after a large and seemingly well-organized group of kidnappers stormed the Tigantourine natural gas facility in southeastern Algeria, security forces ended the crisis with a final assault on the sprawling complex. Though Algiers has demonstrated that it will deal resolutely with any attack targeting its vital interests, the ambiguous and violent events characterizing the hostage crisis have opened the government up to considerable foreign criticism at a time when Algeria is trying to expand investment in its energy sector.