Located in northern Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Algeria is a gateway between Africa and Europe. It has a population of about 35 million. Part of the Turkish Ottoman empire from the 16th century, Algeria was conquered by the French in 1830. The struggle for independence began in 1954, headed by the National Liberation Front (FLN), which came to power with independence in 1962 and has dominated politics ever since. In 1992 a general election won by an Islamist party was annulled, heralding a bloody civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed. An amnesty in 1999 led many rebels to lay down their arms. Although political violence in Algeria has since decreased, the country has been shaken by a campaign of bombings carried out by a group calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Land of Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM). Algeria’s petroleum-based economy has yielded a large cash reserve, but it has not been used to address the country’s many social and infrastructure problems. Poverty remains widespread and unemployment high, particularly among youth.