Bab El Oued
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Bab el-Oued is a neighbourhood in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, along the coast north of the city centre.
During the existence of French Algeria, Bab el-Oued became the main neighbourhood of poor pied-noirs, including many poor fishermen. Towards the end of the Algerian War of Independence, the neighbourhood became the stronghold of the Organisation de l'Armee Secrete, until OAS attacks on the French Army led them to assault and purge the neighbourhood. Soon after, Algeria became independent, and the pied noir population fled the country. The neighbourhood was rapidly reoccupied by Muslim Algerians.
The neighbourhood again gained notoriety during the leadup to the Algerian Civil War (which broke out in 1991) as a stronghold of the Islamic Salvation Front, or FIS. Its population in 1998 was 102,200.[1]
[edit] Notable residents
- On June 20, 1956, a photographer and journalist named Gaston Tolila was shot in Bab-el-Oued. He worked for the Journal d'Alger and was well liked and respected by friends and colleagues. He was shot by terrorists in the middle of his afternoon coffee.
- Abdul Abdullah Yahia, the leader of the Air France Flight 8969 hijacking that was successfully stopped by the French GIGN.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ populstat.info
- ^ Sancton, Thomas. "Anatomy of a Hijack." TIME. Sunday 24 June 2001. Retrieved on 3 May 2009.
Coordinates: 36°48′N 3°03′E / 36.8°N 3.05°E
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