 An increase in attacks allegedly by Islamic militants ahead of Thursday's national reconciliation referendum have claimed at least 44 lives this month, including those of 24 soldiers, according to news reports. Groups such as the Armed Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) intend to boycott the referendum on a charter that offers a partial amnesty to Islamist rebels in exchange for laying down arms. | Er, in my dictionary 'boycott the referendum' means 'don't bother to vote', not 'kill all the voters.' I must need a new dictionary. |
Algeria's president Abdelaziz Bouteflika hopes the amnesty will end the terrible violence that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and establish the country as a peaceful state that is neither fundamentalist Islamic nor secular. The amnesty will free those imprisoned militants who were not involved in massacres, rapes and explosions in public places.| "Go forth, and jihad no more, my sons..." |
Despite this, two 'patriots' (armed civilians) were killed and other wounded, on Sunday by an armed group in Layoune in the Aid Defla region, about 160 kilometres west of Algiers. Also on Sunday, one soldier was killed an five wounded when a bomb went off as a convoy passed it near Dellys in the Bourmerdes region, 50 kilometres east of Algiers. Two other policemen were killed near their barracks in Rebahia, near, Saida, some 430 kilometres southeast of the capital, Algiers, the Arabic daily al-Bayane reported. |