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ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - France called for improved ties with Algeria but refused to take responsibility Wednesday for the deaths of thousands of people in an uprising against the French occupiers 60 years ago.
The violence apparently began during a celebration of the end of World War II on May 8, 1945, when demonstrators in the town of Setif unfurled an Algerian flag banned by the French. As police began confiscating the flags, the crowds turned on the French, killing about two dozen of them.
The uprising spread and the response by French colonial troops grew increasingly harsh in the weeks ahead, including bombardments of villages with a war ship. Algerians say some 45,000 people may have died. Figures in France put the number of Algerian dead at about 15,000 to 20,000.
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