April 15th 1956

ALGIERS: French sources said 82 Algerian rebels were killed today [April 15] in a single fight with French ground and air forces as leadership of one major rebel group announced that there could be no cease-fire until France recognizes Algerian independence. The battle was said to have occurred this afternoon near Grarem, a town of 11,000 less than 35 miles northwest of Constantine by a good road. The French were supported by helicopter- borne troops as well as other planes. Two dead and three wounded were the losses listed on the French side. The defiance of the French was issued by the "general staff" of the National Liberation Front and printed in "L'Action," a French-language weekly in Tunis whose publisher belongs to the new Tunisian cabinet. It is generally considered the mouthpiece of Tunisian Premier Habib Bourguiba. "The Algerian revolution is the work of the Algerians themselves," the organization's statement said. "It does not depend on any foreign country, particularly Egypt. But that does not prevent us from proclaiming our gratitude to the Arab countries and to all peoples, states and individuals who have concretely manifested their solidarity with martyred Algeria."