An estimated 6,000-45,000 Algerians were killed by the French army. This event triggered a radicalization of Algerian nationalists and it was a crucial event in leading up to the Algerian War. In response to the massacre, Messali Hadj, the leader of the independence party, the Movement for the Triumph of Democratic Liberties (MTLD), "turned to electoral politics. With Hadj’s leadership, the party won multiple municipal offices. But, in the 1948 elections the candidates were arrested by Interior Minister Jules Moch. While the candidates were being arrested, the local authorities stuffed ballots for Muslim men, non-members of the independence party. Since the MTLD could not gain independence via elections, Hadj turned to violent means and consulted "the head of its parliamentary wing, Hocine A ̈ıt Ahmed, to advise on how the party might win Algeria’s independence through force of arms." A ̈ıt Ahmed had never been formally trained in strategy, so he studied former rebellions against the French and he came to the conclusion that "no other anti-colonial movement had had to deal with such a sizable and politically powerful settler population." Due to the powerful settler population, A ̈ıt Ahmed believed that Algeria could only achieve independence if the movement became relevant in the international political arena. Over the next few years, members of the MTLD began to disagree about which direction the organization should go to achieve independence, so eventually the more radical members broke off to form the National Liberation Front (FLN). The fight for independence in the international arena: The FLN officially started the Algerian War for Independence and followed A ̈ıt Ahmed's advice by creating tensions in the Franco-American relations. Due to the intensifying global relations, the Algerian War became a "kind of world war—a war for world opinion". In closed-door meetings the United States encouraged France to negotiate with the FLN, but during UN meetings the United States helped France end discussion on Algeria. Ultimately, the strategy of just focusing on superpowers was not successful for Algeria, but once A ̈ıt Ahmed began to exploit international rivalries the Algerian war for independence was successful. Women in the fight for independence: Thousands of women took part in the war, even on deadly missions. Women took part as “combatants, spies, fundraisers, and couriers, as well as nurses, launderers, and cooks”. 3% of all fighters were women, which is roughly equivalent to 11,000 women. This is a quote