1.   A former ranking minister in the Algerian government said the attack came as no surprise.

2.   A senior Algerian government official interviewed by phone said the break between the two groups had been coming for some time.

3.   Algerian government and military officials, who declined requests for interviews, have dismissed such claims.

4.   But almost immediately after it ended, his government began calling for discussion between the Algerian government and the more mainstream of its Islamic opponents.

5.   But he said the Algerian government should engage in a discussion with all parties that accepted democratic government.

6.   But none of the dead inmates were identified by the Algerian government, leaving wide uncertainty about whether leading figures in the militant movement were slain.

7.   But the details were contradictory, and the Algerian government did not identify the prisoners who were slain.

8.   But the Polisario guerrilla movement launched a war for independence, armed and largely funded by the Algerian government.

9.   But the State Department said it could not act without a request from the Algerian government, and no such request had been made.

10.   But until now, its efforts have been limited to Algeria and France, which supports the current Algerian government.