Events on August 20 in history

Souhane massacre (August 20, 1997)

Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.

The largest of the Souhane massacres took place in the small mountain town of Souhane (about 25 km south of Algiers, between Larbaa and Tablat) on 20–21 August 1997. 64 people were killed, and 15 women kidnapped; the resulting terror provoked a mass exodus, bringing the town's population down from 4000 before the massacre to just 103 in 2002. Smaller-scale massacres later took place on November 27, 1997 (18 men, 3 women, 4 children killed) and 2 March 2000, when some 10 people from a single household were killed by guerrillas. The massacres were blamed on Islamist groups such as the GIA.

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Events on 1997

19 Jan

Hebron
Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
21 Jan

Newt Gingrich
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395-28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
5 Feb

The Holocaust
The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
2 Jun

Oklahoma City bombing
In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
1 Jul

Tony Blair
China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Events on August 20 in history

Souhane massacre (August 20, 1997)

References

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Events on 1997

Hebron

Newt Gingrich

The Holocaust

Oklahoma City bombing

Tony Blair