20/08/2026
The Embassy of Algeria in London commemorates
the National MujahidDay
marking the dual anniversary of
the North Constantine Offensive (20 August 1955)
and the Soummam Conference (20 August 1955)
The Embassy of Algeria in London commemorated the National Mujahid Day, marking the dual anniversary of the North Constantine Offensive (20 August 1955) and the Soummam Congress (20 August 1955).
The two events hold great symbolic significance in the struggle for independence. The North Constantine Offensive gave the revolution a popular dimension as the Algerian people rallied around their leadership in Zone II, while the Soummam Congress marked the revolution's attainment of political and organisational maturity.
On the 20thAugust 1955, not long after the outbreak of the triumphant liberation revolution on 1stNovember 1954, ZighoudYoucef, commander of the North Constantine region (Zone II), and his deputy Lakhdar Ben Tobbal, planned simultaneous, large-scale attacks against police stations, gendarmerie barracks, colonial infrastructure and settler outposts within the zone. The objective of these attacks was to prevent the revolution from being stifled in its infancy and to break the siege surrounding the Aurès region, where the uprising had begun.
However, the occupation army’s retaliation for these attacks was brutal, collective, and indiscriminate; thousands of civilians fell victim to the savagery of the occupation forces and were dumped into mass graves by bulldozers. Despite the heavy price paid, these attacks succeeded in achieving their objectives and contributed to placing the Algerian cause on the agenda of the UN General Assembly in September 1955, recognising it as a matter of national liberation rather than an internal French affair
