El Salvador wartime parties race clock to pass amnesty law

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - An amnesty bill that critics say aims to whitewash crimes committed during El Salvador's bloody civil war faced an uncertain fate in Congress on Thursday following an outcry from victims' families, the United Nations and global rights groups.

The bill, which was being discussed by lawmakers in committee, aims to prohibit jail time for former military personnel and leftist guerillas accused of atrocities during the 1980-1992 war in which 75,000 people were killed and 8,000 went missing.