In 1963 the FFS party of Hocine Aït Ahmed contested the authority of the FLN, which had promoted itself as the only party in the nation. Aït Ahmed and others consider that the central government led by Ben Bella is authoritarian and on September the 3rd 1963 the FFS (Socialist Forces front) was created by Hocine Aït Ahmed. This party regrouped people against the regime in place and a few days after its proclamation, Ben Bella sent the army into Kabylie to repress the insurrection. Colonel Mohand Ouelhadj had also taken part in the FFS and in the maquis because he considered that the "moujahidin" were not treated as they should be. At the beginning, the FFS wanted to negotiate with the government but since no agreement was reached, the maquis took up arms and its representatives swore not to give them up as long as democratic principles and justice were a part of the system. But after Mohand Ouelhadj's defection, Aït Ahmed could barely sustain the movement and after the FLN congress on April 16, 1964 which reinforced the government's legitimacy, he was arrested in October 1964. As a consequence, the insurrection was a failure in 1965 because it was hugely repressed by the forces of the ALN directed by Houari Boumediene. In 1965 Aït Ahmed was sentenced to death, but was later pardoned by Ben Bella. Approximately 400 deaths were counted amongst the maquis.