PM calls on Algerians to ‘abandon crime’ and come home

Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia has urged his countrymen who have joined “the ranks of terrorist groups, to abandon the crime of terrorism and return to their people and families”.

In a speech at the Council of the Nation, the upper house of the Algerian Parliament, Ouyahia said: “I appeal to our lost sons, who are still among the ranks of terrorist groups, to abandon the crime of terrorism and return to their people and families.”

In case of failure to respond to this appeal, sooner or later the state will eliminate them by force, or they will be brought before justice, and punishment would be severe by the force of law.

Last week, Ouyahia expressed support for Minister of National Education Nouria Benghabrit-Remaoun in her conflict with Islamic and conservative circles against the backdrop of the reform of the educational system. Benghabrit-Remaoun had come under increased criticism after removing the words “in the name of God” from some school textbooks. Critics said she had declared war on Algeria’s spiritual nature.

In the face of the protests, Ouyahia expressed his “support and endorsement for the minister of education in the scheme of educational reform.“We hope that this appeal will be heard and that these terrorists will return to the right path and join the thousands of Algerians who were yesterday among the ranks of the armed groups and have surrendered within the framework of the National Reconciliation Charter project, before they face the fate of some militants who were killed or threatened by the judiciary,” Ahmed Ouyahia told parliamentarians yesterday.

Read: Algeria facing security threats