ALGIERS, March 23: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika hit back on Thursday at critics who have slammed a new amnesty law as too sweeping, saying reconciliation was the only way to draw a line under years of bloodshed.

“Our gesture is not aimed at serving some against others. Our objective is to serve Algeria and its people,” he said in a speech to the annual conference of a lawyers’ association.

The North African country plunged into a conflict when the authorities cancelled legislative elections which a now-banned religious party was poised to win in 1992. They had feared an Iranian-style revolution.

An estimated 200,000 people have been killed, with most killings being blamed on armed rebels.

Under an amnesty implemented this month, the security services won blanket immunity from prosecution while hundreds of former religious fighters, including some former leaders of armed gangs, walked free from prison.

Some critics expressed fears that the move could help Islamists strengthen their position again and possibly resume armed action.

Several families whose relatives have been killed by rebels held a protest rally in Algiers on Wednesday to denounce the mass release of Islamists.

“The people are tired of massacres and fed up of those who encourage massacres and conflagrations. I realised that the solution cannot be found through brute force,” Bouteflika said.

“We opted for a solution that takes into account the wounds of some and the demands of others. Reconciliation is a good thing. We have no alternative.”

The amnesty also includes compensation for victims of the violence.—Reuters