Word: libya
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...dealings with the Third World. In Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, foreign ministers representing the 35 members of the Islamic Conference last week condemned the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan as a "flagrant violation" of international law. The delegates, who represented such traditional friends of Moscow as Algeria, Libya and the Palestine Liberation Organization, also demanded "the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all Soviet troops stationed on Afghan territory" and suspended Afghanistan's membership in the international Islamic organization...
France's warning to Libya...
Tunisian Interior Minister Othman Kechrid accused Libya of launching the attack in an attempt to overthrow ailing President Habib Bourguiba, 76. Though he did not mention Tunisia's oil-rich eastern neighbor by name, Kechrid clearly had Libya in mind when he denounced "a neighboring state specializing in this kind of operation." Premier Hedi Nouira also accused Libyan Strongman Muammar Gaddafi of "a diabolic plot" to make it appear that Algeria was responsible for the attack. The Tunisians expelled the Libyan ambassador and withdrew their own envoy from Tripoli, a move just short of breaking diplomatic relations...
Libyan authorities expressed "astonishment" at the Tunisian charges. But hostility and distrust between the two countries have been simmering ever since Bourguiba abruptly backed out of a 1974 agreement to merge Tunisia with Libya in a single Islamic Arab Republic. According to Tunisian sources, Gaddafi continues to harbor a deep personal resentment over the incident, and has supported several previous attempts to engineer Bourguiba's downfall...
...consequence of the attack was the 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...