Jamal Awil

← A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962

The F.L.N. liquidated the rival Algerian Communist maquis rouge. [fact]

Both he and Maillot have since been enshrined as "Heroes of the Revolution" by the F.L.N., but at the time grave suspicions existed that the maquis rouge might have been betrayed to Boualem's men by the F.L.N. itself. Such suspicions have never been either allayed or confirmed; while even the circumstances of Yveton's arrest strike a curious note. Whatever the truth, the F.L.N. undoubtedly viewed the rival maquis rouge with ill-concealed hostility, and this liquidation marked in fact the end of the P.C.A. as a separate entity. On 1 July a communiqué attributed to the Combattants de la Libération announced their dissolution and integration within the F.L.N. At the same time the important trade union, the Union Générale des Travailleurs Algériens (U.G.T.A.), now came completely under the control of the F.L.N. The Secretary-General of the P.C.A., Bachir Hadj Ali, withdrew in exile to Moscow where he spent the remainder of the war. P.C.A. members were, however, never fully trusted by the F.L.N., and were frequently detailed to undertake "suicide missions". From this background — and the prolonged Soviet reluctance to send the F.L.N. effective arms support — stems the markedly cool relations between Algeria and the U.S.S.R. that were to continue beyond the end of the war itself.

XREF: Connects to broader Cold War history where nationalist movements suppressed communist rivals to consolidate control.

Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Alge…, loc. 426