This Saturday, August 24, 2019, the Algerian Minister of Culture, Meriem Merdaci, presented his resignation following a jostling at the entrance of the Stadium of 20-August, resulting in the death of 5 young people on Thursday, August 22 during a concert by the artist Soolking, whose real name is Abderraouf Derradji.
The scramble took place at one of the entrances to the Stade du 20-Août, in the popular district of Belouizdad (formerly Belcourt). A large crowd was noted at the entrance and unfortunately, the scramble caused the death of five young people between 13 and 22 years.
The following day, Friday, August 23, 2019, the director of the National Office of the Rights of Authors (ONDA), in charge of the organization of said concert, was sacked by the Prime Minister Nourredine Bedoui.
“Meriem Merdaci has submitted his resignation to Acting President Abdelkader Bensalah who has accepted it,” according to a statement from the presidency broadcast by state television.
The Algerian authorities were outraged by this incident and decided to open an investigation to locate the responsibilities. In addition, the citizens and relatives of the victims had trouble understanding the organization of this concert in one of the oldest stadiums in the country.
