Gradually , dissatisfaction among the Muslim population , which lacked political and economic status in the colonial system , gave rise to demands for greater political autonomy and eventually independence from France . In May 1945 , the uprising against the occupying French forces was suppressed through what is now known as the Sétif and Guelma massacre . Tensions between the two population groups came to a head in 1954 , when the first violent events of what was later called the Algerian War began . Historians have estimated that between 30,000 and 150,000 Harkis and their dependents were killed by the Front de Libération Nationale ( FLN ) or by lynch mobs in Algeria . The FLN used hit and run attacks in Algeria and France as part of its war , and the French conducted severe reprisals
Sétif and Guelma massacre
Sétif and Guelma massacre
Algeria