Ali La Pointe
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Ali Ammar | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 14 May 1930 |
| Died | 8 October 1957 (aged 27) |
| Other names | Ali la Pointe |
| Occupation | Freedom Fighter |
| Organization | Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN) |
| Known for | Battle of Algiers |
| Movement | Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) |
Ali Ammar (Arabic: علي عمار),(14 May 1930 – 8 October 1957), better known by his nickname Ali la Pointe, was a revolutionary fighter and guerrilla leader of the National Liberation Front who fought for Algerian independence against the French occupation, during the Battle of Algiers.
Ali lived a life of petty crime and was serving a two-year prison sentence when war broke out in Algeria in 1954. Recruited in the notorious Barberousse prison by FLN militants, he became one of the FLN's most trusted and loyal lieutenants in Algiers. On 28 December 1956, he killed the Mayor of Boufarik, Amedee Froger.
In 1957 French paratroopers led by Colonel Yves Godard systematically isolated and eliminated the FLN leadership in Algiers. Godard's counter-terrorism methods included interrogation with torture. In June, la Pointe led teams in setting explosives in street lights near public transportation stops and bombing a dance club that killed 17.[1]
Saadi Yacef ordered the leadership to hide in separate addresses within the Casbah. After Yacef's capture, la Pointe and three companions, Hassiba Ben Bouali, Mahmoud "Hamid" Bouhamidi and 'le petit Omar', held out in hiding until 8 October. Tracked down by paras acting on a tip-off from an informer, Ali La Pointe was given the chance to surrender but refused, whereupon he, his companions, and the house in which he was hiding were bombed by French paratroopers. In all, 20 Algerians were killed in the blast.[2]
He was portrayed by Brahim Haggiag in the film The Battle of Algiers.
References
- ^ Randall Law Terrorism: A History section "French Success in the Battle of Algiers and Beyond" John Wiley & Sons 2013 ISBN 978-0745640389
- ^ Universite Hassiba Ben Bouali (in French), archived from the original on 20 February 2008, retrieved 2 February 2011
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