Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he might...

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he might offer amnesty to a radical Moslem guerrilla faction because it had not massacred civilians. However Bouteflika did not clearly state whether the Da'wa wal Djihad (Appeal and Struggle) led by Hassan Hattab would receive the same blanket amnesty granted to two relatively moderate Islamic groups which disbanded the previous month. Security officials said Hattab's faction had been rocked by divisions since the amnesty was enacted on July 13, 1999. Many of its members had been killed in what an official called a "liquidation of those in favour of peace." Those opposing the peace plan include four army defectors not covered by the amnesty who are also Hattab's top aides. They are liable to face a military treason trial which usually carries the death penalty.