Gafsa Incident (1980)

Confrontation between Tunisia and Libya.

In January 1980, during a period of heightened tension between Libya under Muammar al-Qaddafi and Tunisia under Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian guerrillas (trained by the Libyan military) crossed into Tunisia and attacked the south-central city of Gafsa. Tunisia responded by severing ties with Libya; in turn, Libya ordered some 10,000 Tunisian workers in Libya to return home.

Bibliography

Perkins, Kenneth. Tunisia: Crossroads of the Islamic and European Worlds. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1986.

— MATTHEW S. GORDON