Massacres and Reconciliation
| Algerian massacres in 1997 | |
| Thalit massacre | 3 - 4 April |
| Haouch Khemisti massacre | 21 April |
| Dairat Labguer massacre | 16 June |
| Si-Zerrouk massacre | 27 July |
| Oued El-Had and Mezouara massacre | 3 August |
| Souhane massacre | 20 - 21 August |
| Beni-Ali massacre | 26 August |
| Rais massacre | 29 August |
| Beni-Messous massacre | 5 - 6 September |
| Guelb El-Kebir massacre | 19 September |
| Bentalha massacre | 22 September |
| Sid El-Antri massacre | 23 - 24 December |
| Wilaya of Relizane massacres | 30 December |
| 1996 - - 1998 | |
In July 1996 GIA leader Djamel Zitouni was killed by one of the breakaway ex-GIA factions and was succeeded by Antar Zouabri, who would prove an even bloodier leader.
Parliamentary elections were held on June 5, 1997. They were dominated by the National Democratic Rally (RND), a new party created in early 1997 for Zéroual's supporters, which got 156 out of 380 seats, followed mainly by the MSP (as Hamas had been required to rename itself) and the FLN at over 60 seats each. Views on this election were mixed; most major opposition parties filed complaints, and the success of the extremely new RND raised eyebrows. The RND, FLN and MSP formed a coalition government, with the RND's Ahmed Ouyahia as prime minister. There were hints of a softening towards FIS: Abdelkader Hachani was released, and Abbassi Madani moved to house arrest.
Read more about this topic: Algerian Civil War