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Soldiers of the Algerian Opposition

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Soldiers of the Algerian Opposition
Soldats de l'Opposition Algérienne (SOA)
LeaderMouloud Kaouane[1]
FoundedCirca 1965[1]
Preceded byOrganisation Armée Secrète
Succeeded byArmée de Légitimation des Pouvoirs (ALP)[2]
NewspaperUnité et Reconcilation des Algériens[2]
IdeologyAnti-communism, Berberism,[3] Françafrique,
Political positionFar-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

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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

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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

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  • Mohamed Haroun
  • Smaïl Medjeber
  • Joseph Ortiz

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "La guerre secrète des Services français". www.elwatan.com.
  2. ^ 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)
  3. ^ Arab, Hamid. "Bessaoud Mohand Arav, la singularité d'un berbériste visionnaire". lematindz.net. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  4. ^ "AFFAIRE DES "POSEURS DE BOMBES DE 1976" OAS et SOA contre l'Algérie". lesoirdalgerie.com.
  5. ^ "Histoire revisitée en Afrique du Nord". www.amazighworld.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)