Saïd Mohammedi
| Saïd Mohammedi (محمدي السعيد) |
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Saïd Mohammedi (on the left) with other FLN militants
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| Born | December 27, 1912 Larbaâ Nath Irathen, French Algeria |
| Died | December 6, 1994 (aged 81) Algeria |
| Nationality | Algerian |
| Organization | FLN |
| Known for | Politician |
Col. Saïd Mohammedi (December 27, 1912 in Larbaâ Nath Irathen – December 6, 1994 in Algiers), or Si Nacer, was an Algerian nationalist and politician.
Born in the Berber Kabyle region of Tizi Ouzou, Saïd Mohammadi served in the French army. Attracted to Algerian nationalism, and intensely religious, he became involved with the Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini. During World War II, he joined the Mufti to work with Nazi Germany, hoping that Hitler's defeat of France would lead to the liberation of Algeria and other French colonies. He entered the Wehrmacht and fought in the Balkans (Yugoslavia and Greece) as well as on the Russian front during Operation Barbarossa. After a stay in Berlin, he received the Iron Cross First Class, and was an exemplary soldier.
In the summer of 1944, along with five others (Algerians and Germans), he was sent by the Abwehr on intelligence and sabotage missions to Algeria, but was arrested in the region of Tebessa and sentenced to life in prison.
He was released in 1952, and two years later, he joined the Front de libération nationale (FLN), which begun an armed revolt against France in November 1954. Unlike most of the FLN leadership, he had no previous involvement with the Algerian nationalist groups, such as the Parti du Peuple Algérien (PPA) of Messali Hadj or the UDMA of Ferhat Abbas, or even with the religious Ulama movement of shaykh Ben Badis. In 1956, Saïd Mohammedi was made colonel of the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN) and became head of Wilaya III, an important FLN combat region comprising his native Kabylie. His nom de guerre was Si Nacer, and he famously insisted on wearing an old German military helmet as his personal trademark.
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