Special Organisation (Algeria)

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The Special Organisation (French: Organisation spéciale) was a secret paramilitary organisation in colonial Algeria, set-up by the Algerian People's Party (PPA) at the convention of the MTLD in 1947 to prepare for armed struggle against France, which ruled Algeria as a colony since 1830. The turn towards guerrilla warfare was in large part encouraged by the reactions to the Sétif massacre in 1945, and other examples of violent repression, which had convinced many Algerian activists that peaceful political work would be pointless.

The OS had around 1500-2000 members at its peak, and spawned the groups that would later form the the FLN; this group, in turn, became the leading force in the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), and later Algeria's single ruling party until 1992.

The OS was dismantled by French police in 1951, and many members imprisoned. Only the units in Aurès and Kabylia remained active at the time.

[edit] Further reading

• Tlemcani, Rachid, State and Revolution in Algeria (Boulder: Westview Press, 1986).