L.N.A

Algeria celebrates National Mujahid Day on Wednesday, commemorating the double anniversary of the North-Constantinois Offensive (August 20, 1955) and the Soummam Congress (August 20, 1956), two landmark events that illustrate the Algerian people’s rallying to the glorious Revolution and the genius of the leaders of the National Liberation Army (ALN).
The North-Constantinois Offensive, launched on August 20, 1955, taught a lesson to the colonial army, which believed it could stifle the people’s Revolution with iron and fire. The Soummam Congress, held a year later, on August 20, 1956, also marked a major turning point on both the political and military fronts and demonstrated that the Algerian people do not bow before the tyranny of the colonial military machine, as previously affirmed by the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who expressed his conviction that “Algerian women and men who have, deeply ingrained, loyalty to the November message, will continue to watch over our beloved Algeria and preserve its security, stability, and well-being.”
The North-Constantinois Offensive illustrates the unwavering cohesion between the Algerian people, from all walks of life, and the leaders of the National Liberation Army. A cohesion that colonial France tried to break by all means by engaging in repression of unprecedented violence in several regions, reaching the height of barbarity at the Skikda Stadium, the sinister scene of a mass massacre where thousands of Algerians fell as martyrs, executed and thrown into mass graves.
This Offensive helped to raise awareness of the Algerian people’s cause, who refused to live under colonial rule, which led to the inclusion, in September 1955, of the Algerian issue on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly as a cause of national liberation and not an internal conflict as claimed by colonial France at the time.
A few months after the outbreak of the Revolution, Zighoud Youcef, head of Zone II (North-Constantinois), and his deputy, Lakhdar Bentobal, decided to launch a widespread offensive against enemy targets in this region, with the participation of thousands of fellahs, alongside the ALN fighters, particularly against police stations, gendarmerie barracks, public buildings, and facilities belonging to the settlers.
The objective was to loosen the grip on the Aurès and several other regions besieged by the colonial army since the outbreak of the Revolution.
This Offensive marked a major turning point in the armed struggle, enshrining the popular character of the Revolution. It gained new momentum, in terms of structuring and reorganisation, during the Soummam Congress, which provided it with a charter that served as a roadmap until victory and independence.
Indeed, the Soummam Congress led to historic decisions, including the replacement of the five zones in effect since November 1, 1954, with six wilayas subdivided into zones, regions, and sectors, the unification of the ALN at the national level in its structure and ranks in the image of a regular army, the structuring of the Revolution militarily and politically, and the consecration of the primacy of the political over the military and the internal over the external.