Algiers
Algeria on Sunday buried the remains of 24 resistance fighters returned by Paris after more than a century and a half as it marked the 58th anniversary of its independence from France.
The skulls of the fighters, shot and decapitated in the early years of the French occupation, were laid to rest during an emotional ceremony at El Alia cemetery.
Draped with the national flag, the coffins were lowered into freshly dug graves in the martyr’s square of Algeria’s largest burial ground, alongside national heroes such as revolt leader Emir Abdelkader.
An elite unit of the Republican Guard presented arms while a funeral march played in the background, an AFP correspondent reported.
“This for me is a big day — a real independence day,” said Yamina, the 83-year-old great grand-daughter of one of the fighters, Mokhtar ben Kouider El Titraoui.—AFP
