Algeria militants urged to disarm

The attacks in Algiers were the worst in the capital for years

The founder of the Algerian militant group which said it was behind last week's bomb attacks, has called on its members to lay down their weapons.

Hassan Hattab, who is no longer with the GSPC, made his plea in an open letter to the Algerian president.

Thirty-three people died and more than 200 were injured in bomb blasts in the capital, Algiers.

Meanwhile, thousands of people across Algeria attended rallies denouncing the attacks and calling for reconciliation.

"The people must engage. They must not remain spectators while people destroy their country. It is not acceptable," President Abdelaziz Bouteflika told crowds in the capital on Tuesday.

Tense

Mr Hattab said the GSPC, which is now called the al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, was a small group that wanted to turn Algeria into "a second Iraq".

He said members should take advantage of a government amnesty.

The BBC's Mohamed Arezki Himeur in Algiers says since the group changed its name earlier this year, attacks and ambushes in the country have intensified.

Our correspondent says on Tuesday morning the security forces sent out tens of thousands of text messages asking for help.

"Dear citizen, our brothers are suffering from the last remnants of terrorists who are attempting to escape. It is your duty to warn of any threat. Call free on 1590," read the message our reporter received.

Since last week's attacks the authorities have reported a number of hoax bomb threats, most of them in Algiers.

The French embassy was one of a number of establishments that received threats of a car bomb which turned out to be false.

The authorities have described the hoaxes as a type of psychological warfare designed to intimidate the population.