Agence France-Presse -

ALGERIA:

Some 7,000 prisoners are to be freed after having their jail terms cut in a partial amnesty marking the anniversary of the outbreak of Algeria's war of independence against France, officials announced Tuesday.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika gave the order, but made clear that the clemency would not extend to armed Islamic extremists sentenced for "terrorism".

Equally, murderers, rapists, drug dealers, and those sentenced for contraband or corruption would be excluded from the process.

One hundred criminals sentenced to death are to have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, and another 15 who are over 60 years old are to have their sentences reduced to 20 years' imprisonment.

The death sentence has not been applied in Algeria since 1993.

November 1, 1954 marked the beginning of the country's campaign against French rule, a conflict that culminated in independence on July 5, 1962.