A female tourist was brutally murdered after having her throat cut as she sat on a cafe terrace in what has been called the tourist jewel of Algeria.
The Swiss woman was killed on October 11 in the holiday resort of Djanet, southern Algeria, and two men have since been arrested.
The tourist, whose identity has not been disclosed, was horrifically attacked with a knife as she sat on the terrace of the Skaner cafe, located in the city centre and next to the Onat, the tourist office of Djanet.
Her throat was slit by a man armed with a bladed weapon, according to local Algerian media, and was quickly dashed to a local hospital where she lost a lot of blood.
Doctors were unable to save the severely injured woman, and she died in the hospital.
Two men were reportedly arrested, and were from the north of the country, according to Liberation.fr.
They had arrived in Djanet six months ago and were dressed as ‘Tuaregs’ – a nomadic ethnic group of people who live in the Sahara and surrounding areas.
‘For the moment, it is completely hushed up. Nothing is coming out, even on social networks. On the ground, the watchword is radio silence. Everyone is complying,’ a source in close contact with people in the area told the French newspaper.
The woman was reportedly a member of a travel group of five people from Switzerland who have now left Algeria and returned home following the death.
The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it had ‘been informed of the violent death of a Swiss citizen on October 11 in the south-east of Algeria’.
It explained that it had taken charge of the group of four people who were with her, since evacuated to Switzerland, while adding that ‘no further information will be given’.