U.S.-backed Nicaraguan rebels fighting to overthrow the...

U.S.-backed Nicaraguan rebels fighting to overthrow the leftist Sandinista government rejected an amnesty offered by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, saying it lacks “credibility and validity.” Ortega, who took office Jan. 10, sent a bill to the Constituent Assembly granting amnesty to about 12,000 rebels ( contras ) opposed to the Sandinista Front, which has ruled since 1979. He said the offer was being made to end the guerrillas’ three-year-old insurgency. However, the largest rebel group, the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, rejected the offer and called instead for the end of Sandinista rule.