Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Algerian Islamic rebels reject amnesty | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page

ALGIERS,(Reuters) – An Internet statement attributed to Algeria”s largest outlawed Islamic militant group, aligned with al Qaeda, said it opposed an amnesty in exchange for laying down its arms and would continue its &#34Jihad&#34, or holy war.

In a Sept. 29 referendum, Algerians overwhelmingly approved a government offer of partial amnesty for militants fighting for a purist Islamic state, in a bid to end more than a decade of civil war.

&#34This vote is a waste of time. Algeria is not in need of a charter for peace and national reconciliation, but in need of a charter for Islam,&#34 said the statement on an Islamist Web site, dated Sept. 27 and attributed to the leader of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

It was the first time the GSPC had apparently commented on the amnesty project, but the statement”s authenticity could not be immediately verified.

&#34The Jihad will go on … we have promised God to continue the Jihad and the combat,&#34 said Abou Mossab Abdelouadoud, whose real name is Abdelmalek Droukdel.