Soldiers of the Algerian Opposition
Soldiers of the Algerian Opposition Soldats de l'Opposition Algérienne (SOA) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Mouloud Kaouane[1] |
| Founded | Circa 1965[1] |
| Preceded by | Organisation Armée Secrète |
| Succeeded by | Armée de Légitimation des Pouvoirs (ALP)[2] |
| Newspaper | Unité et Reconcilation des Algériens[2] |
| Ideology | Anti-communism, Berberism,[3] Françafrique, |
| Political position | Far-right |
Soldiers of the Algerian Opposition (French: Soldats de l'Opposition Algérienne or SOA) was a French-based Algerian paramilitary organization active during the 1970s.
History[edit]
The SOA was formed in the late 1960s by Mouloud Kaouane under impetus from the SDECE, France's external intelligence agency.[1] The organization's stated aim was to unite all opposition against the government of Houari Boumédiène, inside and outside of Algeria, to overthrow his regime and install a pro-European, democratic government.[2] The SOA recruited mostly from disaffected Pied-noir and Harki communities in France but also from Kabyle and middle-class Arab dissidents in Algeria.[2]
Activities[edit]
In January 1976, the SOA claimed responsibility for a bomb attack on the print works of the Algerian daily newspaper, El Moudjahid and attacks on the military courts of Constantine and Oran carried out by Berber activists.[4] The Constantine bomb was diffused before it could go off but those in Algiers and Oran detonated.[5]
The group has also been linked to the Aginter Press and a number of attacks against Algerian targets in Europe, including the 1973 bombing of the Algerian consulate in Marseille.[1]
Personalities[edit]
- Mohamed Haroun
- Smaïl Medjeber
- Joseph Ortiz
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "La guerre secrète des Services français". www.elwatan.com.
- ^ a b c d Schembré, Christian (2015). Pour une poignée de terre : du combat des pieds-noirs d'Algérie à la construction de la Méditerranée. Paris. ISBN 978-2322042418.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Arab, Hamid. "Bessaoud Mohand Arav, la singularité d'un berbériste visionnaire". lematindz.net. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "AFFAIRE DES "POSEURS DE BOMBES DE 1976" OAS et SOA contre l'Algérie". lesoirdalgerie.com.
- ^ "Histoire revisitée en Afrique du Nord". www.amazighworld.org.