Algiers angered at Saudi invite to Muslim fundamentalist

[La_Serpiente]

Algiers angered at Saudi invite to Muslim fundamentalist

Algerian foreign ministry on Wednesday called in Saudi Arabia's ambassador to explain why the leader of an banned Algerian Muslim fundamentalist political party was invited to an official reception, a government statement said.

"After Abassi Madani attended the traditional reception given by King Fahd for the Eid al-Ahda (feast of Abraham's sacrifice), the ambassador of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was convened to the foreign ministry where he was asked for an explanation," the statement said.

Madani was already behind bars in on a range of charges in January 1992 when the Algerian army intervened to halt the second round of a general election his Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was poised to win.

The cancelling of the election and subsequent outlawing of the FIS triggered an Islamic extremist insurgency against Algeria's secular government which has claimed more than 100,000 lives.

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Algiers angered at Saudi invite to Muslim fundamentalist