Mohamed Lamari
Lt. Gen. Mohamed Lamari (7 June 1939 – 13 February 2012) () was Chief of Staff of the Algerian army during most of the Algerian Civil War. Personal life He was born on 7 June 1939 in Biskra, to a family originally from Bordj Benazzouz (near Biskra). Early military career He joined the French army, completing his training in the cavalry at the Ecole de guerre in Saumur. In 1961, seven years into the Algerian War of Independence (and just a year before independence), he changed sides, joining the National Liberation Army. After independence, he trained as an artilleryman at the M. V. Frunze Military Academy, then as a general staff officer at the Ecole de Guerre in Paris. From 1970 to 1976 he commanded a regional general staff, then he worked in the general staff operational bureau until 1988, when he became commander of the 5th military region (eastern Algeria around Constantine). In 1989, he became commander of ground forces. Lamari's sons include Farid (a military dentist) and Mourad, an adviser at the Algerian embassy to Belgium. Civil war In the military coup of 1992 that started the Algerian Civil War, he was prominent among the officers demanding then-President