1980 Gafsa Uprising Explained

Conflict:Gafsa events
Place:Gafsa, Tunisia
Date:26 – 27 January 1980
Result:Tunisian governmental victory
Combatant2: Arab nationalists
Libya
Commander1: Habib Bourguiba
Commander2: Ezzedine Chérif
Ahmed al-Marghani
Muammar Gaddafi
Strength1:~300
Strength2:60 militants

The Gafsa events is the name given to the armed operation carried out by commandos of the Libyan-backed Tunisian nationalist opposition in January 1980, after which they infiltrated the city of Gafsa through the city of Tebessa in Algeria.[1] The attackers managed to take control of most of the city's centers, but their calls for the residents to revolt were unsuccessful. Tunisian security and army forces eventually managed to retake the city and capture the attackers,[2] including their leader Ezzedine Chérif.[3] The operation led to a sharp deterioration in relations between Tunisia and Libya and negatively affected the relationship of the Tunisian regime with the Algerian government, which was cold in the early 1980s.

Notes and References

  1. Book: St John . Ronald Bruce . Libya and the United States, Two Centuries of Strife . 2013 . University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated . 9780812203219 . 9 October 2022.
  2. News: Koven . Ronald . Tunisia Puts Down Assault by 300 On Southern City . 9 October 2022 . The Washington Post . 29 January 1980.
  3. Web site: رشيد خشانة: أربعون عاما على عملية قفصة لتي أضاعت علينا فرصا كبرى . ar.leaders.com.tn . 1 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211104122331/https://ar.leaders.com.tn/article/5549-%D8%B1%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%AE%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%B9%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%82%D9%81%D8%B5%D8%A9-%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D8%A3%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B5%D8%A7-%D9%83%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%89 . 4 November 2021 . dead.