Editing 1997 (section)

===April===
* [[April 3]] – The [[Thalit massacre]] in [[Algeria]]: all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 April 1997 |title=More than 80 Algerians killed in weekend massacres |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/06/algeria.massacre/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612075645/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/06/algeria.massacre/ |archive-date=12 June 2024 |access-date=5 September 2024 |website=[[CNN]]}}</ref>
* [[April 14]]
** [[Mecca fire of 1997|Fire breaks out]] in a pilgrim camp on the Plain of Mena, {{convert|11|km|mi}} from [[Mecca]]; 343 die.
** Former SS Captain [[Erich Priebke]] is retried; on [[July 22]] he is sentenced to fifteen years in prison.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0417/041797.intl.intl.2.html |title=Ex-Nazi's Trial Opens Up Italy's Fascist Past |date=April 17, 1997 |author=Lara Santoro |website=Christian Science Monitor |access-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229161044/https://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0417/041797.intl.intl.2.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[April 18]] – The [[Red River of the North]] breaks through dikes and [[1997 Red River flood|floods]] [[Grand Forks, North Dakota]], and [[East Grand Forks, Minnesota]], causing US$2&nbsp;billion in damage.
* [[April 21]] – A [[Pegasus rocket]] carries the remains of 24 people into earth orbit, in the first [[space burial]] by [[Celestis]] company.
* [[April 22]]
** [[Haouch Khemisti massacre]]: 93 villagers are killed in [[Algeria]].
** A [[Japanese embassy hostage crisis|126-day hostage crisis]] at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in [[Lima]], [[Peru]].
* [[April 23]] – 42 villagers are killed in the [[Omaria massacre]] in Algeria.
* [[April 29]]
** The [[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]] (OPCW), [[Chemical Weapons Convention|CWC]] treaty enters into force.
** [[Rongjiawan train disaster|Two trains crash]] at [[Hunan]], China; 126 are killed.