Pope Francis has recognised the martyrdom of a bishop, seven trappist monks and 11 other religious men and women killed by extremists in Algeria in the 1990s. The 19 men and women died between 1993 and 1996, while Algeria was locked in a 10-year-long armed conflict between government forces and Islamist rebel groups; the conflict left tens of thousands of people dead.
The story of the seven monks, who had been kidnapped from the monastery of Tibhirine, was treated in the film ‘Of Gods and Men’ (pictured) which won the grand prize at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.
