1954, the loyalty of the Muslim Algerian soldiers to France inevitably came under heavy strain. Some of the regular units were transferred from Algeria to France or Germany following increased incidents of desertion or small-scale mutiny. As a partial replacement, the French administration recruited the Harkis as irregular militia based in their home villages or towns throughout Algeria. Initially raised as self-defence units, the Harkis, from 1956 on, increasingly served alongside the French Army in the field. They were lightly armed (often only with shotguns and antique rifles), but their knowledge of local terrain and conditions made them valuable auxiliaries to French regular units. According to General R. Hure, by 1960 approximately 150,000 Muslim Algerians served in the French Army or as auxiliaries. In addition to volunteers and conscripts serving in regular units, this total took into account 95,000 Harkis (including 20,000 in separate mokhazni district police forces and 15,000 in commando de chasse tracking units). French authorities claimed that more Algerian Muslims served with the French regular army than with the Algerian nationalist Front de Libération Nationale (FLN). According to US Army data, possibly compiled at a different date, the Harkis numbered about 180,000, more than the total FLN effectives. A 1995 study by General Faivre indicates that by 1961 about 210,000 Muslim Algerians served in the French Army or as auxiliaries, and a maximum of 50,000 in the FLN. A report to the United Nations dated 13 March 1962 gave an estimated total of 263,000 "pro-French Muslims" broken down to 20,000 regular soldiers, 40,000 conscripts, 78,000 Harkis and Moghaznis, 15,000 mobile group commandos and 60,000 civilian self-defense group members. The remaining 50,000 included Muslim government officials and veterans of the French Army. The French used the Harkis as guerrilla-style units, though mostly in conventional formations. They generally served either in all-Algerian units commanded by French officers or in mixed units. Others were employed in platoon- or below-sized units attached to French battalions. A third use involved Harkis in intelligence-gathering roles, with some reported minor false-flag operations in support of intelligence collection. The Harkis had mixed motives for working with the French. Unemployment was widespread amongst the Muslim population, especially in rural districts. The FLN had attacked members of rival nationalist groups as well as pro-French Muslim collaborators; and some Algerians enrolled in the Harkis to avenge the deaths of relatives who had been political opponents of the FLN.