Ali Ammar

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Ali Ammar (also known as Ali La Pointe) was a guerrilla leader who fought for Algerian independence against the French. In the film, The Battle of Algiers, he was portrayed by Brahim Haggiag.

Ammar was born in 1930, lived a life of petty crime and was serving a two-year prison sentence when war broke out in Algeria in 1954. Recruited in the notorious Barberousse prison by FLN militants, he became one of the FLN's most trusted and loyal lieutenants in Algiers. On December 28, 1956, he assassinated the Mayor of Algiers, Amedee Froger.

Late in 1957 the FLN leadership had been systematically isolated and eliminated by French paratroopers led by Colonel Yves Godard. Saadi Yacef ordered the leadership to hide in separate addresses within the Casbah; Yacef was captured on September 24th. Ali la Pointe and two companions, Hassiba Ben Bouali and 'le petit Omar' held out in hiding until 8 October. Tracked down by paras acting on a tip-off from an informer, Ali La Pointe was given the chance to surrender but refused, whereupon he, his companions and the house in which he was hiding were bombed by French paratroopers. In all, 20 Algerians were killed in the blast.

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