Amid internal political strife in France, decisions were repeatedly taken to retain control of the territory, and additional military forces were brought in over the following years to quell resistance in the interior of the country.

He was a man committed to his Shari’a faith and conduct of the jihad, and soon into his rise and maintenance of power as a figure head of the resistance he coined the nickname Amir al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Believers).

[9] Initially, the young Abdelkader took over from his father who was leading the Algerian opposition against the newly arrived French troops in the Oran province.

This gave Abdelkader a good foundation of expanding his sphere of control, as following this he created his own state in opposition to the French rule.

In 1837, Constantine was besieged by the French, forcing Ahmed Bey to flee to the Aures Mountains where he continued to direct the resistance until 1848 when he captured by the colonisers.

The dire conditions in the region, such as famine and the French pitting different ethnic groups against each other by treating some better than others, led to the Kabyle uprisings.

[11] The catalyst for the revolt was the mutiny of a Spahi – a member of the Algerian cavalry under French rule – in 1871, after his refusal to be deported to France to fight in the Franco-Prussian War.

The rebellion extended through most of Algeria and was the last major revolt prior to the start of the War of Liberation, which led to independence.

[17] However, after Messali Hadj was released from prison in 1946, MTDL candidates participated in the first elections for the National Assembly of the newly constituted French Fourth Republic and obtained a third of the 15 seats designated for Muslim Algerians.

[17] This move was criticized by nationalist members and in 1947 along with the official MTDL, still fitting into the existing political colonial framework, a secret paramilitary group, the Special Organisation (OS), was created to pursue the fight for independence.

Many young people joined the OS to fight colonialism, and at the same time Arabism and Messali's leadership was increasingly questioned, especially by Berber members.

[17] This led to the split in 1953, between “Centralists”, urging for revolution, and Messalists, refusing to start an armed action in the short term.

[18]“Self-determination” became the common goal of Algerian nationalism, with many calling for confrontations with the French, recognizing the need for guerrilla warfare to achieve independence.