Algeria celebrates 60 years of independence
Algiers, Jul 5 (EFE).- Algeria on Tuesday celebrated the 60th anniversary of independence from colonial France with a massive military parade.
The North African country declared its independence on July 5, 1962, after an nearly eight-year war that ended over 130 years of French colonial rule.
Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune visited the Martyr’s Memorial in the Algerian capital Algiers and laid a wreath early on the day before the parade, which kicked off with the national anthem and the firing of 60 cannons.
This event was attended by several leaders such as the presidents of Palestine and Tunisia.
Up to 100 senior military officials displayed their equipment, including BMPT-62, light armored vehicles built by the Russian company KBP, according to Algeria’s menadefense website.
Algeria had not celebrated its independence with a military parade since 1989 when the country was plunged into a civil war and a wave of jihadist attacks that left nearly 200,000 people dead.
On Monday, Tebboune approved a total of five decrees granting amnesty to thousands of prisoners.
Amnesty International demanded earlier a “special law” in favor of the 266 political detainees of the Algerian protest movement, known as the Hirak, which according to the presidency, is in the process of being prepared.EFE
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