Arab-Berber Arabization process in the Maghreb. Various population genetics studies along with historians such as Gabriel Camps and Charles-André Julien lend support to the idea that the bulk of the gene pool of modern Maghrebis, irrespective of linguistic group, is derived from the Berber populations of the pre-Islamic period. Arab-Berber Arab-Berbers (; ) are an ethnic group native to Maghreb, a North African region along the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Arab-Berbers are people of mixed Berber and Arab origin and whose native language is a variant of Maghrebi Arabic. Many Arab-Berbers identify primarily as Arab and secondarily as Berber.
Berber separatism in North Africa few of the demands of the Berber Spring have been met by the state, and the Berber language is now a national language of Algeria. However, this is still distinct from Arabic, which remains the official language, and many other points of contention remain. In 2014 and 2015 a number of ethnic riot incidents plagued Algeria, with a dozen mortal casualties in violence between ethnic Arabs and Berbers. In February 2017, protests erupted in Algeria, with some 500 protesters marching. The protest was organized by human rights groups, some trade unionists and a small opposition party. Algeria's main opposition forces