Role of Ethnic Minorities



The situation in Algeria during the time of the revolution was typical for a colonial era country. The majority of people living in Algeria were Muslims, the traditional Berber people and Arabs native to the region. The smaller group of French settlers called “Pied Noirs” held most of the power in the country. The Muslims involved in actually fighting the aar were mainly rural or poor urban people fighting for their rights to govern themselves. While not all of the people supported the rebels in the fight the opinion of the people in Algeria favored the rebels over the French. Another group of Algerians called Harkis who had fought with the Free French Forces in World War 2 again fought alongside the French Army in Algeria. While there was constant tensions and violent actions between Muslims and French, the Harkis in particular were persecuted by both sides, the rebels in Algerian and suspicious French citizens.