A former leader of Algeria’s insurgency has for the first time urged members of Al-Qaeda’s North African wing to declare a truce. The appeal by Hassan Hattab, who gave himself up three years ago, appeared to be part of an Algerian government strategy aimed at ending a two-decade insurgency during which an estimated 200,000 people have been killed. Hattab was the founder of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, the precursor to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which continues to mount sporadic attacks and kidnaps, though the violence has subsided significantly. Since he surrendered he has made several appeals to AQIM fighters to lay down their arms under a government amnesty but this is the first time he has spoken of a truce. “We invite you to announce a truce for a couple of months,” Hattab said in the appeal to the insurgents, which was broadcast on national radio late on September 8. “The truce will be an opportunity to discuss with Muslim scholars the future of Islam in Algeria,” the appeal said.
ALGERIA’S EX-REBEL LEADER CALLS FOR TRUCE
A former leader of Algeria’s insurgency has for the first time urged members of Al-Qaeda’s North African wing to declare a truce. The appeal by Hassan Hattab, who gave himself up three years ago,
