Iraqi interim President Ghazi al-Yawer has said the government would "within a couple of days" offer an amnesty to insurgents who had fought US-led forces but were ready to lay down their arms, the Financial Times newspaper reported Monday.

"We are offering an amnesty definitely, for people who have not committed too many atrocious acts; everybody except murderers, rapists and kidnappers," al-Yawer said in an interview with the paper.

"We are offering a silky hand to law-abiding people, and we are offering a sharp sword to anybody who wants to be above the law," he said.

If individuals who had killed Americans were "well known to the coalition troops and they can press charges, fine, they have to go to trial," the president said.

But "if it's just the people of this city (Baghdad), some of them killed 10 soldiers, we are offering an amnesty. We have to do that, we have to be brave enough to accept our people and embrace all Iraqis," he added.

The government led by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, last week announced sweeping powers to impose emergency law in insecure areas, with the aim of ending the unrest in Iraq.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2004)