Islamist party joins calls for Algeria massacre inquiry

The exiled leadership of the outlawed Algerian party, the Islamic Salvation Front, or FIS, has joined calls for an inquiry into recent massacres in Algeria.

In a statement released in Germany, the FIS said the killings of civilians were taking place in areas where most people had voted for the FIS in elections six years ago.

The organisation then asked why the Algerian authorities feared an inquiry, a reference to the rejection by Algiers of calls for an international investigation into the killings.

Algiers says the massacres are being carried out by Islamic extremists.

The FIS statement came on the anniversary of the cancellation by the authorities of the 1992 elections, which the FIS appeared certain to win.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service