180th anniversary of the Dahra fires (1845 - 2025)
In a cave located in Douar El Frachich, in the commune of Nekmaria, wilaya of Mostaganem, one of the most atrocious crimes engraved by the French occupation in the memory of Algerians took place on June 18, 1845. This event has become a gaping wound that does not heal with time.
The Ouled Riah tribe, made up of more than a thousand people, took refuge in the cave's openings to escape the brutality of the French colonial army. On the morning of June 17, French forces surrounded the site and attempted to storm, unsuccessfully, in the face of heroic resistance from the refugees inside. Faced with this tenacity, Colonel Pélissier gave the order to the artillery to bombard the cave, then had a fire lit at its two entrances, which was maintained all night by his soldiers.
At dawn on June 18, 1845, the scenes of a terrible human drama were revealed: a genocide of the entire tribe - men, women and children burned or asphyxiated, alongside the animals and food they had taken.
This atrocious tragedy was only a reflection of the repressive methodology of colonialism, which did not shy away from any atrocities in an attempt to extinguish the spirit of resistance. These innocent people were only condemned because they refused to submit and give in to injustice.
The martyrs of the Ouled Riah cave have immortalized their names in the register of national memory, tracing with their pure blood an eternal page in the history of the Algerian struggle embodying the highest values of resistance and human dignity.
The Ouled Riah tribe, made up of more than a thousand people, took refuge in the cave's openings to escape the brutality of the French colonial army. On the morning of June 17, French forces surrounded the site and attempted to storm, unsuccessfully, in the face of heroic resistance from the refugees inside. Faced with this tenacity, Colonel Pélissier gave the order to the artillery to bombard the cave, then had a fire lit at its two entrances, which was maintained all night by his soldiers.
At dawn on June 18, 1845, the scenes of a terrible human drama were revealed: a genocide of the entire tribe - men, women and children burned or asphyxiated, alongside the animals and food they had taken.
This atrocious tragedy was only a reflection of the repressive methodology of colonialism, which did not shy away from any atrocities in an attempt to extinguish the spirit of resistance. These innocent people were only condemned because they refused to submit and give in to injustice.
The martyrs of the Ouled Riah cave have immortalized their names in the register of national memory, tracing with their pure blood an eternal page in the history of the Algerian struggle embodying the highest values of resistance and human dignity.