There is general agreement that the civil war was touched off when the military, in 1992, canceled Algeria's first free parliamentary elections, which the FIS would have won decisively. French colonial authorities, Stora explains, ruled the country using murder and torture for 132 years, and then nationalists adopted bloody tactics of their own for the 1954-62 war of independence. Thus, says Michael Willis, author of The Islamic Challenge in Algeria, it was hardly surprising that Muslim rebels adopted extreme tactics when they began to fight the military regime in 1992. And Algerian sociologist Karim Lahouel argues that the country's volatile mix of violent culture, economic despair and political alienation produced nihilistic young thugs prepared to slaughter for revenge and adventure, often under the influence of drugs. And their knowledge of Islam is equal to zero.
Government forces fuel the cycle with ferocious raids on suspected guerrilla hideouts.
Such complexity makes the search for a solution no easier. FIS officials spread word that the move was part of a deal whereby the group's armed wing, which went after military targets rather than civilians, declared a unilateral cease-fire. In return, FIS leaders say they expected the government would gradually grant the fis a limited political role. But hard-liners on both sides seem intent on preventing dialogue. The latest wave of gia slaughter erupted at the time of Madani's release and continued until last week's elections.