40th Anniversary of the bombing of Sakiet Sidi Youssef Tunisia
The village of Sakiet Sidi Youcef is located on the Algerian-Tunisian borders, on the road leading from Souk Ahras in Algeria to the town of El Kef in Tunisia. It is very close to the Algerian city of Lehdada, administratively attached to the wilaya of Souk Ahras. It therefore constituted a strategic area for the units of the National Liberation Army based on the eastern borders and a rear base to receive and care for those disabled by war.
The bombing was preceded by several French provocations on the village because it was a reception point for the wounded and mutilated from the liberation struggle. The first provocation took place in 1957, when Sakiet Sidi Youcef was the subject of French aggression after the promulgation by France, on September 1, 1957, of a decision ordering the pursuit of Algerian revolutionaries inside Tunisian territory. Then the village was the victim of a second attack on January 30, 1958 after a French plane came under fire from the ALN. The attacks were crowned by the savage raid which took place on 02/08/1958, only one day after the visit made by Robert Lacoste to eastern Algeria.
The village of Sakiet Sidi Youcef was the victim of a French aerial attack on the morning of February 8, 1958. The French raid on the village began after the command of the French air forces gave the order. It took place on a public holiday, which was also a market day during which aid was distributed to Algerian refugees by the Algerian Red Crescent and the International Red Cross. The damage was therefore very significant and described by the media as a horrible massacre. The number of deaths reached 79, including 11 women and 20 children, and more than 130 injured, alongside the total destruction of the village's various vital infrastructures.
This aggression was intended to deal a blow to Arab support for the Revolution to the extent that Tunisia was at the forefront of the states which provided support for the Revolution.
The French authorities tried to justify their aggression under the guise of self-defense, arguing that only military zones were targeted.
For its part, the National Liberation Front expressed its solidarity with the Tunisian people and the CCE sent a telegram of condolences to the Tunisian people, expressing its availability to join its troops alongside the Tunisian troops to face French aggression.
The bombing was preceded by several French provocations on the village because it was a reception point for the wounded and mutilated from the liberation struggle. The first provocation took place in 1957, when Sakiet Sidi Youcef was the subject of French aggression after the promulgation by France, on September 1, 1957, of a decision ordering the pursuit of Algerian revolutionaries inside Tunisian territory. Then the village was the victim of a second attack on January 30, 1958 after a French plane came under fire from the ALN. The attacks were crowned by the savage raid which took place on 02/08/1958, only one day after the visit made by Robert Lacoste to eastern Algeria.
The village of Sakiet Sidi Youcef was the victim of a French aerial attack on the morning of February 8, 1958. The French raid on the village began after the command of the French air forces gave the order. It took place on a public holiday, which was also a market day during which aid was distributed to Algerian refugees by the Algerian Red Crescent and the International Red Cross. The damage was therefore very significant and described by the media as a horrible massacre. The number of deaths reached 79, including 11 women and 20 children, and more than 130 injured, alongside the total destruction of the village's various vital infrastructures.
This aggression was intended to deal a blow to Arab support for the Revolution to the extent that Tunisia was at the forefront of the states which provided support for the Revolution.
The French authorities tried to justify their aggression under the guise of self-defense, arguing that only military zones were targeted.
For its part, the National Liberation Front expressed its solidarity with the Tunisian people and the CCE sent a telegram of condolences to the Tunisian people, expressing its availability to join its troops alongside the Tunisian troops to face French aggression.