ALGERIA: Algerian voters overwhelmingly approved a partial amnesty for Islamic militants which is intended to end a decade of a brutal war that pitted neighbour against neighbour and cost more than 150,000 lives.
Interior minister Noureddine Zerhouni said 97.4 per cent backed a referendum on Thursday on a "charter for peace and national reconciliation", which saw a participation level of 80 per cent of 18.3 million eligible voters.
In provinces hardest hit by 13 years of civil war, participation exceeded 90 per cent.
Voting was marred by violence in several provinces in the east of the country, particularly in the restive Berber region of Kabylie where opposition parties had called for a boycott. Participation in Tizi Ouzou was a mere 11.5 per cent. - (Reuters)