Kept in Paris, they had never been able to be buried on their native land. Twenty-four bodies of Algerian fighters killed in the 19th century during French colonization are expected to arrive in Algeria on Thursday, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced on Thursday during a military ceremony.
"In a few hours, Algerian military planes from France will land at Houari Boumediene international airport with the remains of 24 leaders of the Popular Resistance and their companions," said the Algerian president during '' a ceremony to award ranks and medals to officers of the National People's Army (PNA).
Remains kept at the Musée de l'Homme
These are "the remains of 24 leaders of the Popular Resistance who have been deprived of their natural and human right to be buried for over 170 years," added Abdelmadjid Tebboune. Among these fighters, is notably Cheikh Bouziane, the leader of the Zaâtcha revolt (eastern Algeria) in 1849. Captured by the French, he was shot and then beheaded.
Also mentioned are the names of Bou Amar Ben Kedida and Si Mokhtar Ben Kouider Al Titraoui, all considered martyrs of the early days of resistance to French colonization. Claimed for years by Algiers, these mortuary remains - skulls, several dozen in total - were kept in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History. During a visit to Algiers on December 6, 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron undertook to return the Algerian human remains stored at the Musée de l'Homme, one of the Museum's sites.
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