Bizerte crisis
| Bizerte crisis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the decolonisation of Africa and the spillover of the Algerian War | |||||||||
Bizerte in 1961 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| France | Tunisia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Charles de Gaulle Maurice Amman |
Habib Bourguiba | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
7,000 3 cruisers | 10,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
24+ killed 100+ wounded |
630 killed 1,555 wounded multiple civilians killed | ||||||||
The Bizerte crisis (French: Crise de Bizerte; Arabic: أحداث بنزرت, romanized: ʾAḥdāth Bīnzart) occurred in July 1961 when Tunisia imposed a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte, Tunisia, hoping to force its evacuation. The crisis culminated in a three-day battle between French and Tunisian forces that left 630 Tunisians and 24 French dead.