Forty police officers were wounded in clashes with demonstrators opposed to shale gas exploration in the Algerian Sahara.

Forty police officers were wounded in clashes with demonstrators opposed to shale gas exploration in the Algerian Sahara, AFP said.

Protesters reportedly set fire to the local government offices of In-Salah district and the residence of the district chief, as well as part of a police dormitory and a police truck.

The security forces managed to “take control of the situation and bring calm to the city,” the Interior Ministry said.

Anti-shale gas demonstrations have increased in the cities of the Algerian Sahara since late December, when Algerian oil company Sonatrach announced it had successfully completed its first pilot drilling in the In-Salah region.