Timeline Tunisia
Return to home
AfricaNet: http://www.africanet.com/africanet/country/tunisia/home.htm#History
ArabNet: http://www.arab.net/tunisia/history/tunisia_history.html
CIA Factbook: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ts.html
Emulate: http://www.emulateme.com/tunisia.htm
NewAfrica: http://www.newafrica.com/history/tunisia/pre_colonial.htm
Travel Docs: http://www.traveldocs.com/tn/index.htm
Tunisia Online: http://www.tunisiaonline.com/html/history.html
The population of Tunisia, bordering on Libya and
Algeria, was about 98.5% Muslim.
(SFC, 5/6/96, p.A-1,4)
The Bardo National Museum in Tunis contains the world's finest
collection of Roman mosaics.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T5)
Kairouan is the 4th holiest city of the Muslim world and
contains
the Great Mosque of Kairouan.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T5)
814BC Carthage
was founded by Phoenician traders.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T5)
814-813BC Elissa-Dido, Princess of Tyre, Jezebel’s
grandniece, fled to North Africa after her brother, King Pygmalion,
murdered her husband, Tyre’s high priest. She was said to have
then founded Carthage on a hilltop now called Byrsa. Byrsa means Oxhide
and it was said that Elissa could have as much ground as could be
covered by the hide of an ox. She cut the hide into narrow strips and
so claimed the whole hill.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.174)(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.T8)
300BC Carthago Nova (Cartagena,
Spain) had coins minted in the Greek style. One face bears the image of
Melqart, chief god of Tyre, the other face shows a horse and palm tree,
emblems of Carthage.
(NG, Aug., 1974, S.W. Matthews, p.171)
264BC Rome initiated the Punic
Wars with Carthage, an oligarchic empire that stretched from the
northern coast of Africa to the Strait of Gibralter. The primary cause
was the Carthaginian expansion into the Greek cities of Sicily.
Carthage was forced to surrender its control over the western region of
Sicily and this marked the end of the first Punic War. The three Punic
Wars: 264-241 BC, 218-202 BC, 149-146 BC, also known as the
Carthaginian Wars, finally resulted in the destruction of Carthage and
Roman control of the western Mediterranean.
(eawc, p.14)(HNQ, 8//00)
262BC War broke out between
Carthage and Rome. Three long wars lasted till 146BC when Carthage was
destroyed by Rome.
(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.167-8)
261BC Rome captured a Punic
quinquereme. In two months they copied it plank by plank and built 100
like it and eventually the Roman fleet was able to defeat the
Carthaginians.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.178)
256BCE The Carthaginian city of Kerouane was sacked
by the Romans.
(NG, 8/04, p.48)
250-150BC Punic wars between Rome and Carthage.
(V.D.-H.K.p.63)
241BC Mar 10, The Battle of Aegusa
in which the Roman fleet sank 50 Carthaginian ships occurred.
(HN, 3/10/98)
218BC The Romans renewed their
efforts against Carthage as Carthage expanded into Spain. This 2nd
Punic War lasted 16 years at the of which Carthage was forced to
surrender al of its territory to Rome except for its capital city in
North Africa.
(http://eawc.evansville.edu, p.15)
217BC Jun 21, Carthaginian forces
led by Hannibal destroyed a Roman army under consul Gaius Flaminicy in
a battle at Lake Trasimenus in central Italy. Hannibal of Carthage
attacked Roman Consul Flaminio at Tuoro on Lake Trasimeno in Umbria.
Hannibal’s army of Numidians, Berbers, Libyans, Gascons, and Iberians
was down to one elephant after crossing the Alps with 39. His army of
40,000 drove the Romans into the lake where 15,000 died as opposed to
1,500 of Hannibal’s men. Two nearby towns were named Ossaia (boneyard)
and Sanguineto (bloodied).
(SFEM, 10/12/97, p.37)(HN, 6/21/98)
217BC During the Second Punic War
Rome appointed Quintus Fabius Maximus as dictator to stave off
Hannibal’s Carthaginian army.
(ON, 9/05, p.6)
216 BC Aug 2, Hannibal Barca [of Carthage] won his
greatest victory over the Romans at Cannae. Hannibal seized a grain
depot in the small village of Cannae in order to lure the Romans to
battle. Having crossed over the Alps, Hannibal‘s forces defeated the
Romans at the Trebia River and also at Lake Trasimene. Thereafter, the
Romans were unwilling to commit a large force to attacking Hannibal.
However, Hannibal‘s spies had learned two Roman consuls shared command
of the legions and attempted to goad the more impetuous of the two into
battle at Cannae.
(HN, 8/2/98)(HNQ, 11/16/00)
206BC Rome destroyed Carthaginian
forces at the Battle of Metaurus in northern Italy.
(ON, 9/05, p.7)
204BC-202BC Greece and most of
Asia Minor came under the control of the Romans after the Roman victory
over Carthage in the 2nd Punic War.
(WSJ, 12/26/97, p.A7)(ON, 9/05, p.7)
203BC Hannibal and his army
returned home to defend Carthage against Roman forces.
(ON, 9/05, p.7)
202BC Roman forces under Scipio
Africanus defeated Hannibal of Carthage on the Plains of Zama in
northern Tunisia.
(NG, 8/04,
p.44)(www2.cs.uh.edu/~clifton/hannibal.html)
149BC-146BC Rome and Carthage fought the 3rd Punic
War that resulted in the total defeat of Carthage. All inhabitants of
Carthage were sold into slavery and the city was burned to the ground.
As a result of the Punic wars Rome expanded its empire to cover Spain,
North Africa, Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt.
(eawc, p.15)(HNQ, 8/9/00)
146BC Roman forces breached the
walls of Carthage. All inhabitants were sold into slavery. The city was
burned to the ground and the land was sown with salt.
(NG, Aug., 1974, p.174)(NG, 8/04, p.46)
31BC Rome under Emperor Augustus
annexed the Carthage territory.
(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.T8)
162 The Antonine Baths were
completed in Carthage after 17 years of construction.
(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.T8)
230 A Roman coliseum was built in
the town of El Jem that could hold 30,000.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, p.T5)(AP, 10/19/98)
230 Quintus Septimius Florens
Tertullianus (anglicized as Tertullian), early Christian apologist,
died. He was a church leader and prolific author of Early Christianity.
Tertullian was born about 150 and lived and died in Carthage (later
Tunisia).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertullian)
439 Oct 9, Ancient city of
Carthage was captured by Genseric the Vandal. [see Oct 19,24]
(MC, 10/9/01)
439 Oct 19, The Vandals, led by
King Gaiseric, took Carthage and quickly conquered all the coastal
lands of Algeria and Tunisia. Egypt and the Libyan coast remained in
Roman hands.
(Enc. of Africa, 1976, p.168)(HN, 10/19/98)
902 Aug 1, The Aghlabid rulers of
Ifriqiyah (modern day Tunisia) captured Taormina, Sicily.
(HN, 8/1/98)
1091 A trading deal was made
between Mahdiyah, near Tunis, and Genoa.
(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R50)
c1200-1300 Sidi Bou Said was a 13th century Sufi holy
man. A town 12 miles from Tunis was named after him. It was closed to
non-Muslims until the 1820s.
(SSFC, 8/4/02, p.C12)
1332 May 27, Ibn Khaldun (d.1406),
Arab historian, was born in Tunis. He was also a social scientist and
political activist and developed theories on economics and politics. He
authored the "Muqaddimah" (introduction to history), that gave an
in-depth analysis of the cyclical nature of the rise, maturation and
decline of political regimes and economies.
(HN, 5/27/98)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R20)
1518 Algiers and Tunis, Barbary
states in North Africa, were founded.
(TL-MB, p.11)
1530s Khayr Ad-Din (d.1546) known
by the European name Barbarossa, meaning Redbeard, united Algeria and
Tunisia as military states under the Ottoman caliphate. He was a
Barbary pirate and later as admiral of the Ottoman fleet.
(HNQ, 4/25/02)
1534 Aug 20, Turkish admiral
Chaireddin (Khair ad-Din) "Barbarossa" occupied Tunis.
(MC, 8/20/02)(PC, 1992, p.178)
1535 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
led a naval expedition to Tunis against Barbarossa. The foray proved
successful, but Barbarossa escaped and continued to fight.
(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
1546 Barbarossa, one of the great
figures in the court at Istanbul, died. Khayr Ad-Din was a Barbary
pirate and later, as admiral of the Ottoman fleet, he united Algeria
and Tunisia as military states under the Ottoman caliphate in the
1530s.
(HNQ, 2/10/99)
1554 Dragut, leader of the
Mediterranean pirates, recaptured Mehedia, Tunisia, from the Spaniards.
(TL-MB, 1988, p.18)
1655 Apr 4, Battle at Postage
Farina, Tunis: English fleet licked Barbarian pirates.
(MC, 4/4/02)
1655 Apr 28, English admiral Blake
beat a Tunisian pirate fleet.
(MC, 4/28/02)
1795 In Tripoli Pasha Yusef
Karamanli deposed his older brother Hamet in a bloodless coup.
(ON, 10/06, p.8)
1798 Mar 26, Tunis, under the rule
of Bey Hamuda Pasha, signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the
US following negotiations with William Eaton. The American
Revolutionary War veteran had been recently appointed consul to the
North African kingdom.
(ON, 10/06, p.7)
1800 Jan 10, The US Senate
ratified a peace treaty with Tunis.
(ON, 10/06, p.7)
1815 Aug 5, A peace treaty with
Tripoli, which followed treaties with Algeria (Jun 30) and Tunis (Aug
28), brought an end to the Barbary Wars. Commodores Stephen Decatur and
William Bainbridge had conducted successful operations against the
Barbary States of Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli.
(HN, 8/5/98)(WSJ, 10/9/01, p.A22)(ON, 10/06, p.10)
1881 May 12, The Treaty of Bardo
established Tunis [Tunisia] as a French protectorate.
(SC, internet, 5/12/97)(HN, 5/12/98)
1890 The Cathedral of St. Louis
was built in a suburb north of Tunis.
(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.T8)
1902 Aug 3, Habib Bourguiba, 1st
president of Tunisia, was born.
(SC, 8/3/02)
1903 Aug 3, Habib Bourguiba
(d.2000), later president and independence leader, was born in
Monastir. Some said the papers were doctored and that he was born
earlier.
(SFC, 4/7/00, p.D5)
1930s Habib Bourguiba founded the
Neo-Destour nationalist movement dedicated to end French colonial rule.
(SFC, 4/7/00, p.D5)
1934 Sep 3, Tunisia began its move
for independence.
(MC, 9/3/01)
1939 Bahi Ladgham was arrested and
sentenced to prison for plotting against the state’s security.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)
1942 Nov, German troops arrived in
Tunisia. The nation was home to some 100,000 Jews at the time. The
Germans imposed anti-Semitic policies that included fines, forcing Jews
to wear Star of David badges and confiscating property. More than 5,000
Jews were sent to forced labor camps, where 46 are known to have died.
About 160 Tunisian Jews in France were sent to European death camps.
(AP, 1/30/07)
1943 Jan 22, Axis forces pulled
out of Tripoli for Tunisia, and destroyed bases as they left.
(HN, 1/22/99)
1943 Feb 13, There was a German
assault on Sidi Bou Zid, Tunisia, as Gen. Eisenhower visited the front.
(MC, 2/13/02)
1943 Feb 14, A German offensive
was made through the de Faid pass in Tunisia.
(MC, 2/14/02)
1943 Feb 15, The Germans broke the
U.S. lines at the Fanid-Sened Sector in Tunisia.
(HN, 2/15/98)
1943 Feb 16, Withdrawing Africa
Corps reached the Mareth-line in North Africa.
(MC, 2/16/02)
1943 Feb 18, Rommel took three
towns in Tunisia, North Africa. The intercepted communications of an
American in Cairo provided a secret ear for the Desert Fox.
(HN, 2/18/98)
1943 Feb 19, German tanks under
brig. general Buelowius attacked Kasserine Pass, Tunisia.
(MC, 2/19/02)
1943 Feb 20, German troops of the
Afrika Korps broke through the Kasserine Pass, defeating U.S. forces.
(HN, 2/20/99)
1943 Feb 21, German tanks and two
infantry battalions broke the Allied line and took Kasserine Pass in
North Africa.
(HN, 2/21/98)
1943 Feb 23, German troops pulled
back through the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia.
(MC, 2/23/02)
1943 Feb 25, U.S. troops retook
the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, where they had been defeated five days
before.
(HN, 2/25/99)
1943 Feb 26, The German assault
moved to Beja, North Tunisia.
(SC, 2/26/02)
1943 Mar 6, Battle at Medenine,
North-Africa: Rommel's assault attack.
(MC, 3/6/02)
1943 Mar 10, Hitler called Rommel
back from Tunisia in North Africa. The intercepted communications of an
American in Cairo provided a secret ear for the Desert Fox.
(HN, 3/10/98)
1943 Mar 18, American forces took
Gafsa in Tunisia. In the crucible of Operation Torch, the men of
Sub-Task Force Goalpost received their baptism of fire capturing the
Moroccan town of Port Lyautey.
(HN, 3/18/98)
1943 Mar 21, British 8th army
opened an assault on Mareth line, Tunisia.
(MC, 3/21/02)
1943 Mar 23, Germans counter
attacked US lines in Tunisia.
(SS, 3/23/02)
1943 Mar 27, US began an assault
on Fondouk-pass, Tunisia.
(MC, 3/27/02)
1943 Apr 19-1943 Apr 20, Lance
Sgt. Haane Manahi (d.1987) of New Zealand performed gallant actions
against overwhelming odds in the bloody battle for Takrouna, a
fortified citadel in Tunisia, North Africa. In 2007 the Maori trooper
was posthumously honored he 64 years after he was denied a top
gallantry award despite a commendation signed by four commanding
generals.
(AP,
3/17/07)(www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-004807.html)
1943 Apr 22, There was German
counter attack in North Tunisia.
(MC, 4/22/02)
1943 May 6, British 1st army
opened an assault on Tunis.
(MC, 5/6/02)
1943 May 7, The last major German
strongholds in North Africa, Tunis and Bizerte, fell to Allied forces.
(HN, 5/7/99)
1943 May 9, The 5th German Panzer
army surrendered in Tunisia.
(MC, 5/9/02)
1943 May 11, Hermann Goering
division in Tunisia surrendered.
(MC, 5/11/02)
1943 May 12, Axis forces in
Tunisia and all of North Africa surrendered.
(AP, 5/12/97)(HN, 5/12/98)
1943 May 20, French, British and
US held a victory parade in Tunis, Tunisia.
(MC, 5/20/02)
1943 Jul 8, US invasion fleet
passed Bizerta, Tunisia.
(MC, 7/8/02)
1943 In Tunisia Khaled Abdelwahhab
hid a group of Jews on his farm outside Mahdia, saving them from the
Nazi troops occupying the North African nation. In 2007 Abdelwahhab
became the first Arab to be nominated for recognition as "Righteous
Among the Nations," an honor bestowed on non-Jews who risked their
lives to save Jews from Nazi persecution.
(AP, 1/30/07)
1953 May, Reports claimed that 200
young Muslims tried to invade the Jewish quarter and had provoked an
Arab-Jewish riot. Bahi Ladgham challenged the French authorities to
permit an int’l. investigation.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)
1953-1973 Bahi Ladgham (d.1998 at 85) was secretary
general of the Neo-Destour Party, dedicated to independence.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)
1956 Mar 20, Tunisia was granted
independence by France. Tunisia became an independent nation under the
leadership of Habib Bourguiba. He launched a campaign advocating birth
control. By 2003 the fertility rate plunged from 7.2 in the 1960s to
2.08.
(WUD, 1994, p.1685)(EWH, 1968, p.1247)(SFEC,
4/12/98, p.T5)(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)(WSJ, 8/8/03, p.A1)
1956 Jul 20, France recognized
Tunisia's independence. [see Mar 20]
(MC, 7/20/02)
1957 Mar 30, Tunisia and Morocco
signed a friendship treaty in Rabat.
(HN, 3/30/98)
1957 Jul 25, The monarchy in
Tunisia was abolished in favor of a republic.
(AP, 7/25/07)
1958 Iraq’s Prime minister Fadhel
al-Jamali (1903-1997) was sentenced to death after a military coup. He
was freed after Morocco interceded and he later became an advisor to
Pres. Habib Bourguiba who granted him citizenship.
(SFC, 5/27/97, p.A22)
1959 Nov 8, Tunisian Pres. Habib
Bourguiba's Nes Destour party won every chair.
(MC, 11/8/01)
1960 The per capita income was
under $200 and the illiteracy rate was more than 80%.
(SFC, 5/6/96, p.A-4)
1966 Tunisia legalized abortion.
(WSJ, 8/7/03, p.A5)
1969-1970 Bahi Ladgham served as premier.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)
1970 Sep 27, A cease-fire accord
was signed in Cairo between the Jordanian army and Palestinian
guerrillas by King Hussein and Yasser Arafat brokered by the Arab peace
committee headed by Bahi Ladgham of Tunisia.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)(http://tinyurl.com/6e3v9s)
1970 Nov, Hedy Nouri succeeded
Bahi Ladgham as premier.
(SFC, 4/16/98, p.B4)
1971 Habib Bourguiba was the first
Arab leader to publicly advocate mutual recognition with Israel.
(SFC, 4/7/00, p.D5)
1977 Sep 10, Convicted murderer
Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant, became the last person to date
to be executed by the guillotine in France.
(SFEC, 2/9/97, Z1 p.6)(AP, 9/10/97)
1982 Aug 30, Palestinian
Liberation Organization left Beirut, Lebanon, and moved to Tunis,
Tunisia.
(SFC, 11/11/04, p.A18)
1985 Aug 21, Tunisia expelled 253
Libyans in apparent retaliation for Libya’s expulsion of over 20,000
Tunisian workers in recent weeks.
(http://tinyurl.com/yq3x4e)
1985 Oct 1, Israeli forces staged
an air raid on PLO-headquarter at Tunis and 68 people were killed.
Yasser Arafat narrowly escaped death.
(WSJ, 11/12/04, p.A11)
1987 Nov 7, Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali became president of Tunisia after doctors declared Habib Bourguiba
medically unfit to govern. Mr. Ben Ali led a peaceful coup that ended
the 30 year rule of Habib Bourguiba. "The Tunisians are Sunni Muslims
and deny polygamy, admit abortion, and abjure the veil."
(SFC, 5/6/96, p.A-4)(WSJ, 6/22/95, p.A-5)(SFC,
10/28/99, p.A13)
1988 Apr 16, Abu Jihad, [Khalil
al-Wazzir], PLO-leader, was murdered by Israeli assassins in Tunisia.
They left the chief strategist of the Palestinian uprising with 170
bullets in his body. The Palestine Liberation Organization accused
Israel of assassinating al-Wazir, a top PLO military figure.
Palestinians reacted angrily, and at least 14 were shot and killed by
Israeli troops during clashes in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank.
(AP, 4/16/98)(AP, 1/22/06)
1988 Dec 15, U.S. Ambassador
Robert H. Pelletreau Jr. telephoned the PLO's headquarters in Tunisia,
one day after President Reagan authorized direct talks.
(AP, 12/15/98)
1994 Tunisia held its first
multiparty parliamentary elections.
(SFC, 10/28/99, p.A13)
1996 The population of Tunisia was
about 9 million.
(SFC, 5/6/96, p.A-1,4)
1998 The Tunisian film "Honey and
Ashes" opened in the US.
(SFEC, 10/4/98, DB p.53)
1999 Mar 26, Hillary Clinton
continued her 12-day African tour with a speech in Tunis at a women's
rights conference.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C1)
1999 Oct 25, In Tunisia Pres. Zine
al-Abidine Ben Ali won a 3rd term in office with over 99% of the vote.
It was the nation's first multiparty presidential vote.
(SFC, 10/26/99, p.B2)
2000 Apr 6, Habib Bourguiba former
president and independence leader, died at age 96.
(SFC, 4/7/00, p.D5)
2000 Jan 19, Bettino Craxi (65),
former 2-term Italian premier, died in Tunisia. He had fled Italy in
1994 to escape a corruption jail sentence.
(WSJ, 1/20/00, p.A1)(Econ, 1/9/10, p.53)
2002 Apr 11, In Tunisia a gas
tanker truck crashed into the wall of a El Ghriba synagogue on the
island of Djerba and killed 14 Germans, 6 Tunisians and a Frenchman.
The government at first called it an accident. Later evidence indicated
that it was an act of terrorism. Nizar Nawar (24), a Tunisian citizen
who had studied in Canada, was the driver. Al Qaeda later claimed
responsibility. In 2006 a Spanish court sentenced two men to a total of
10 years in prison for their part in a suicide bombing. In 2006 Nawar’s
uncle, Belgacem Nawar (44), was convicted in Tunis and sentenced to
years in prison for aiding in the attack.
(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A8)(SFC, 4/24/02, p.A7)(WSJ,
5/2/02, p.A13)(SSFC, 5/19/02, p.A3)(WSJ, 8/20/02, p.A1)(AP,
5/10/06)(SFC, 6/8/06, p.A3)
2002 May 7, An EgyptAir Boeing 737
with 62 people crashed in bad weather near Tunis. 18 were reported dead.
(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A15)
2002 Jun 17, It was reported that
fundamentalist Tunisian Jews on Djerba Island were exempt from the
country’s mandatory secular education. The numbered about a 1,000.
(WSJ, 6/17/02, p.A16)
2002 Jun 21, Eleven people drowned
off Tunisia while swimming to a boat they hoped would take them to
Italy.
(AP, 6/21/02)
2002 Sep 2, Tunisia's highest
court upheld jail terms against opposition leader Hamma Hammami, head
of the outlawed Communist Workers Party, and two officials of his
political party.
(AP, 9/2/02)
2003 Jun 20, A boat carrying some
250 people toward Italy sank off the Tunisian coast, killing at least
50 people. The boat's occupants were all thought to be illegal
immigrants.
(AP, 6/20/03)(AP, 6/22/03)
2003 Sep 30, In the largest
terrorism trial in Belgium's history Nizar Trabelsi of Tunisia, who
once played professional soccer in Germany, received the maximum
sentence of 10 years in prison from a court that also convicted 17
other men and acquitted five others.
(AP, 9/30/03)
2003 Dec 5, In Tunisia an
informal, two-day summit brought leaders from five southern European
countries together with five of their counterparts from across the
Mediterranean.
(AP, 12/5/03)
2003 Dec 6, The Europe and North
Africa summit ended a 2-day meeting in Tunisia. The group, formed in
1990, gathered leaders from North Africa — Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco,
Mauritania and Libya — with leaders from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal
and Malta.
(AP, 12/6/03)
2003 The African Development
(AfDB) fled its home in the Ivory Coast and set up operations in
Tunisia.
(Econ, 5/19/07, p.50)
2004 Feb 18, President Bush
praised social progress in Tunisia and welcomed its leader, Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, as a partner in the fight against terrorism while also
urging political reforms in the moderate Muslim nation in North African
nation.
(AP, 2/18/04)
2004 May 22, An Arab League summit
met for a 2-day session in Tunis. 8 Arab leaders, including Crown
Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, failed to show up and Libyan leader
Moammar Gadhafi walked out on the 1st day.
(AP, 5/23/04)
2004 May 23, In Tunisia Arab
leaders concluded a 2-day summit and committed their countries to
political reforms.
(SFC, 5/24/04, p.A7)
2004 Oct 3, Twenty-two would-be
immigrants drowned and 42 were missing after a boat that was to have
carried them across the Mediterranean broke up and sank off the
Tunisian coast.
(AFP, 10/4/04)
2004 Oct 23, Tunisia’s Pres. Ben
Ali (68) won elections with 94.5% of the vote.
(WSJ, 10/26/04, p.A1)(Econ, 10/23/04, p.46)
2005 Jan, Tunisia’s 1st private
television station began broadcasting under the name “Hannibal TV.”
(WSJ, 5/26/05, p.A1)(www.hannibaltv.com.tn/)
2005 Jun, The Trans-Sahara
Counter-Terrorism Initiative began operations. The US funded plan
intended to provide military equipment and development aid to 9
north-east African countries considered fertile ground for Muslim
militant groups. Participating countries included Algeria, Chad, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia.
(SFC, 12/27/05, p.A1)
2005 Aug 6, A Tunis Air jet
carrying 35 passengers went down in the sea off the Sicilian coast, and
rescuers were on their way. 16 people were killed, while 23 survived. A
bad fuel gauge on the Tuninter plane caused the crash. On March 23,
2009, the Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency
measures before crash-landing his plane, was sentenced to 10 years in
jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot. Another five
employees of Tuninter, a subsidiary of Tunisair, were sentenced to
between 8 and 9 years in jail.
(AP, 8/5/05)(AP, 8/7/05)(WSJ, 9/8/05, p.A1)(Reuters,
3/24/09)
2005 Oct 18, In Tunisia 8
prominent opponents of the government went on a hunger strike ahead of
a world summit on information in Tunis. They called for freedom of the
press and of association and want Tunisia’s 600-odd political prisoners
to be freed.
(Econ, 11/12/05, p.50)
2005 Nov 16, A UN technology
summit opened in Tunisia after an 11th-hour agreement that leaves the
United States with ultimate oversight of the main computers that direct
the Internet's flow of information, commerce and dissent.
(AP, 11/16/05)
2006 Feb 11, In Tunis US Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and leaders of Tunisia pledged to build
closer military ties to help combat Islamic extremism.
(AP, 2/11/06)
2007 Jan 3, In Tunisia at least 14
people, including two security forces, were killed in the shootout in
Soliman, 25 miles south of the capital, Tunis. Fifteen people were
arrested. On Jan 12 the interior minister said nearly 30 Islamic
extremists involved in a deadly gunbattle with police had blueprints of
foreign embassies and documents naming foreign envoys.
(AP, 1/13/07)
2007 Apr 30, In southern Tunisia a
stampede at an open-air concert by stars of the Arab version of
"American Idol" killed seven young people and injured 32.
(AP, 5/1/07)
2007 May 14, In Tunisia Sfax port
officials said the Tunisian coastguard had rescued 35 African would-be
immigrants who were trying to sail to Italy from the Libyan coast. More
than 1,000 people have landed on Spanish or Italian territory since May
10.
(AFP, 5/14/07)
2007 Jun 9, In Bosnia Karray Kamel
bin Ali, alias Abu Hamza, Tunisian-born radical Islamist, was arrested
near Zenica. This was several hours after he and possibly three or four
others attacked a house owned by Zijad Kovac. 3 family members were
wounded.
(http://isaintel.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45)
2007 Jun 19, The US announced the
transfer of six Guantanamo Bay prisoners back to their home countries,
including one who, according to his lawyers, now may face abuse in
Tunisia for nonviolent political activities. 4 men returned to Yemen
and two to Tunisia.
(AP, 6/19/07)
2007 Jul 6, EU officials said they
have asked Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to join patrols of Europe's
border control agency in a bid to stop massive clandestine immigration.
(AFP, 7/6/07)
2007 Nov 6, Italian police said a
Europe-wide sweep disrupted an Islamic cell that was recruiting
potential suicide bombers for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. They
announced the arrests of 20 terror suspects, mostly Tunisians.
Authorities in Britain, France and Portugal confirmed arrests.
(AP, 11/6/07)
2007 Nov 15, A Tunisian court
convicted a former prisoner at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,
on terror charges. Abdullah Bin Omar, a Tunisian citizen who spent five
years at the detention facility in Cuba, was released in June.
(AP, 11/14/07)
2007 Nov, Tunisia blocked access
to popular video-sharing sites YouTube and DailyMotion, which both
carried material about Tunisian political prisoners. Tunisian activists
and allies responded by linking videos about civil liberties to the
image of Tunisia’s presidential palace in Google Earth.
(Econ, 6/28/08, p.67)
2008 Jan 7, The Tunis-based Arab
League Educational Cultural and Scientific Organization said nearly one
in 3 people in the Arab world is illiterate, including nearly half of
all women in the region.
(AP, 1/8/08)
2008 Jan 30, Tunisia hosted the
25th session of the meeting of Arab Ministers of the Interior. Security
chiefs agreed to toughen rules on material that might promote terrorism.
(Econ, 2/9/08,
p.53)(http://allafrica.com/stories/200801220589.html)
2008 Feb 22, In Tunisia 2 Austrian
tourists were kidnapped. Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa later claimed
responsibility and warned western tourists to stay away. The 2 tourists
were released on October 31.
(AFP, 3/11/08)(WSJ, 3/11/08, p.A1)(AP, 10/31/08)
2008 Jul 18, In Tunisia 2
officials and three others were convicted of plotting terror attacks
and to overthrow the government.
(WSJ, 7/19/08, p.A1)
2008 Aug 23, A Tunisian court
convicted 13 Islamic militants on charges linked to plots to carry out
attacks in the north African country. 6 more were convicted on Aug 26
for establishing a military camp in Tunisia's northeastern Kef region
designed to train fighters to be sent to Iraq.
(AP, 8/28/08)
2008 Oct 30, Scientists reported
that 1 in 17 men living on the coasts of North Africa and southern
europe may have a Phoenician direct male line ancestor. Evidence was
based on Y-chromosomes collected in Cyprus, Malta, Morocco, the West
Bank, Syria and Tunisia.
(SFC, 10/31/08, p.A14)
2008 Nov 1, Three Tunisian men
accused of terrorism links by Italian prosecutors arrived in Milan
under heavy security after being extradited from Britain. Habib
Ignaoua, Mohamed Khemiri and Ali Chehidi were arrested in the London
and Manchester areas last year as part of coordinated raids across
Europe against an alleged Italian-based network recruiting fighters for
Iraq and Afghanistan.
(AP, 11/2/08)
2009 May 26, Tunisia’s Justice
Minister Bechir Tekkari said his country is ready to accept the 10
Tunisians held at Guantanamo Bay.
(SFC, 5/27/09, p.A2)
2009 Oct 25, Tunisians cast
ballots for president and parliament in elections expected to hand
another landslide victory to incumbent leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
(73), who warned opponents they would face legal retaliation if they
questioned the elections' fairness. Pres. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was
re-elected for a fifth 5-year term with an overwhelming 89% of the
vote, his weakest performance yet but more than enough to show his
solid grip on the nation.
(AP, 10/25/09)(AP, 10/26/09)(Econ, 10/31/09, p.59)
2009 Nov 26, In Tunisia Taoufik
Ben Brik (49), a journalist known for his critical stance toward
Tunisia's government, was sentenced to six months in prison for what
his lawyer called a trumped-up assault charge.
(AP, 11/26/09)
2009 Dec 20, Italian state-run and
private television stations said a third Tunisian detainee from
Guantanamo Bay is being moved to Italy to face international terrorism
charges for having allegedly recruited fighters for Afghanistan. He was
identified as Moez Ben Abdelkader Fezzani (40), also known as Abou
Nassim.
(AP, 12/20/09)
2010 Jan 22, Some 124 refugees,
who said they are Kurds and Tunisians, landed on the southern shore of
Corsica after a lengthy journey at sea.
(AP, 1/22/10)
Go to http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = Tunisia
End of file