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1962 Isly massacre | |
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Part of the Algerian War and the Battle of Bab El Oued | |
Location | Algiers, French Algeria |
Date | 26 March 1962 |
Target | Pied-Noir pro-colonialism demonstrators |
Attack type | Massacre |
Deaths | 50-80 |
Injured | 200 |
Perpetrators | French Army |
The 1962 Isly massacre was an incident during the Algerian War when French Army soldiers opened fire on a crowd of Pied-Noir demonstrators marching in support of France's control over Algeria on 26 March 1962. Following the army's blockade of Bab El Oued, which served as the headquarters of the Organisation armée secrète (OAS), the OAS called for massive demonstrations to force an end to the blockade. In response to the call, as well as news of the signing of the Évian Accords, which ended the Algerian War by confirming Algeria's independence, crowds of anti-independence Pied-Noirs marched throughout Algiers, denouncing the treaty.
A 45-man detachment of the French Army's 4th Tirailleur Regiment, most of whom were conscripted Algerian Muslims, manning a roadblock panicked and opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators who were marching towards the neighbourhood of Bab El Oued, killing between 50 and 80 Pied-Noir civilians. In response to news of the massacre, Pied-Noirs began a mass exodus from Algeria to Metropolitan France. On 26 January 2022, President of France Emmanuel Macron formally acknowledged the massacre, which he described as "unforgivable".