ALGIERS, March 4: Algeria began on Saturday freeing former fighters under an amnesty aimed at promoting national reconciliation after years of conflict, witnesses said. The first batch of prisoners walked free from Serkadji prison in the capital Algiers.

Some knelt and kissed the soil to give thanks for their freedom before being greeted by relatives who had waited outside the building since shortly after dawn.

Officials said similar scenes were repeated outside main jails across the country.

“Up to 2,000 prisoners will be released beginning today and over the next three days,” an official source told Reuters.

The amnesty approved by the government on Feb. 21 also gave Islamic guerrillas fighting the authorities six months to surrender and receive a pardon provided they were not responsible for massacres, rapes and bombings of public places. —Reuters