Islamist group offers to lay down arms

Algiers - Algeria's Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the armed wing of the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), said yesterday …

Algiers - Algeria's Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the armed wing of the banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), said yesterday it would lay down its arms and put itself under the state's authority, in a statement received and published by the presidency.

On Thursday, the AIS leader, Mr Madani Mezrag, told the President, Mr Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the armed group was ready to lay down its arms and co-operate with the government under certain conditions.

A statement from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office yesterday said Algeria will offer an amnesty to rebels and their supporters following the AIS's decision to end its guerrilla struggle.

Unlike hardline movements such as the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), the AIS has observed a unilateral truce since October 1st, 1997, but the authorities never acknowledged having reached any agreement.