 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2020) |
| Operation Blue Bird | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Algerian War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Krim Belkacem Saïd Mohammedi Zaidat Ahmed Mehlal Said Omar Toumi |
 Robert Lacoste General Lorillot Captain Hentic | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300 men | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown, at least 2 killed |
12 killed 6 wounded 400 weapons seized | ||||||
Operation Blue Bird was a mission carried out by France's foreign intelligence service, the SDECE, in 1956 during the second year of the Algerian War of Independence. Its aim was to turn several hundred Kabyle people against the Algerian resistance known as the National Liberation Front (FLN), with the hopes of creating a clandestine counter-resistance force. These Kabyle fighters were known as Force K.[1]
The operation backfired and resulted in supplying the FLN with money, weapons, and new soldiers. The operation remained secret for many years, and it is still largely unknown in France and Algeria. Yves Courrière claims to have been the first to make information about the operation available to the public.[2]
- ^ Si cette opération est connue sous le nom d'« Oiseau bleu » répandu par les historiens qui utilisent une compilation répétée de sources don't l'imaginaire n'est pas toujours absent, aucun des initiateurs ou des participants ne le confirme. Pour eux, il s'agit de « Opération K », comme Kabylie. Trésor du Patrimoine, no 4, sept-oct 2002, Éditions Historiques, p 6
- ^ Yves Courrière (1970). Guerre d'Algérie: Les fils de la Toussaint. Vol. I. Fayard.