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Sétif is the capital city of the Sétif Province and the 5th most populous city of Algeria, with an estimated population of 410,000 residents in 2015 in an area of more than 127 km⁲. It is one of the most important cities of eastern Algeria and the country as a whole, since it is considered the trade capital of the country and an industrial pole with 3 industrial zones within the borders of the city. It is an inner city, situated in the eastern side of Algeria, 270 kilometers east of Algiers, 131 km west of Constantine, in the Hautes Plaines region south of Béjaia and Jijel. The city is at 1,100 meters of altitude. The city was part of the Phoenician Empire then it became part of the ancient Berber kingdom of Numidia, the capital of Mauretania Sitifensis under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was destroyed during the Arab invasion of North Africa. In 1839 when France occupied the site, they found it in ruins apart from Roman ruins of the Byzantine fortress of Setif, and the ruined civilian housing from roman and byzantine periods. Reconstruction of a civilian part of the city began with the construction of a Catholic Church of Setif which is the first building established by the colonial French. The city was the starting point of the 8 May 1945 protests and massacre, which was a crucial factor to the start of the Algerian War.