Ali La Pointe

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Ali Ammar
Born(1930-05-14)14 May 1930
Died8 October 1957(1957-10-08) (aged 27)
Algiers, French Algeria
Cause of deathKilled in action
OccupationMilitant
Military career
Allegiance FLN
Years of service1955–1957
Battles / wars

Ali Ammar (Arabic: علي عمار‎; 14 May 1930 – 8 October 1957), better known by his nom de guerre Ali la Pointe, was an Algerian militant and prominent revolutionary and guerilla figure of the Algerian War. He is best known for being one of the FLN commanders during the Battle of Algiers.

Ali lived a life of petty crime and was serving a two-year prison sentence when the Algerian War began. Recruited in the notorious Barberousse prison by FLN militants, he became one of their most trusted and loyal lieutenants in Algiers. On 28 December 1956, he was suspected of killing the Mayor of Boufarik, Amédée Froger.

In 1957, French paratroopers led by Colonel Yves Godard systematically isolated and eliminated the FLN leadership in Algiers. Godard's extortion methods and tactics included torture. In June, la Pointe led teams setting explosives in street lights near bus stops and bombing a dance club that killed 17 people.[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 '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, killing him alongside with 20 other Algerians in the blast.[2]

  1. ^ Randall Law Terrorism: A History section "French Success in the Battle of Algiers and Beyond" John Wiley & Sons 2013 ISBN 978-0745640389
  2. ^ Universite Hassiba Ben Bouali (in French), archived from the original on 20 February 2008, retrieved 2 February 2011