Murder of the monks of Tibhirine
On the night of 26–27 March 1996, seven monks of the Trappist order from the Atlas Abbey of Tibhirine near Médéa, Algeria were kidnapped during the Algerian Civil War. They were held for two months, and found dead in late May 1996. The circumstances of their kidnapping and death remain controversial; the Armed Islamic Group ("Groupe Islamique Armé", GIA) claimed responsibility for both, but in 2009, retired General François Buchwalter reported that the monks were killed by the Algerian army.