Fighting and Massacre at Oran

On 5 July 1962, as Algeria proclaimed its independence, an explosion of violence shook Oran. FLN commandos stormed European districts, civilians were massacred in indiscriminate attacks, while OAS groups attempted to resist. The French army, still present but under orders of non-intervention, only intervened belatedly. The event tragically marked the end of the French presence in Algeria.

After the Évian ceasefire, the OAS carried out repeated attacks in major cities. Official independence, on 5 July, led to score-settling and general panic in Oran, where coexistence was already explosive. The ordered passivity of the French army remains a subject of controversy.

Assaults by FLN groups on European districts, OAS ambushes, summary executions in the streets, roundups, and lynchings. The French army remained confined to barracks, intervening only in the late afternoon to evacuate survivors.

The Oran massacre brutally ended the Algerian War and hastened the exodus of Europeans and Jews from Algeria. It left a painful memory and a persistent controversy over French inaction. It symbolizes the brutality of the endings of colonial conflicts.