Word: gafsa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...popular committee that has come to free you from a dictatorial regime, and here are your arms." This call to revolt was issued by 30 armed men who sneaked across the Algerian border early last week and made their way to the phosphate mining town of Gafsa (pop. 30,000) in central Tunisia. Joined there by 20 confederates, the invaders tried to seize Gafsa's civil and military installations. The local populace refused to join the insurrection, but it took Tunisian troops 20 hours to subdue the commandos. The battle left 41 men dead and more than 100 wounded...
...sudden appearance of a formidable Tunisian supporter: France. The French keep a fatherly eye on many of their onetime colonies and protectorates in Africa: last year, for example, Paris dispatched troops to help Chad put down a Libya-backed rebellion. Shortly after last week's clash in Gafsa, three French Navy warships-a cruiser, a frigate and an escort vessel -slipped out of their Mediterranean base at Toulon. The government claimed they were headed for maneuvers near Crete, but officials suggested that the ships would first "show themselves" off the Tunisian coast. In addition, the French have apparently sent...