Tunisia is a North African nation, bordered on the west by Algeria and on the east by Libya. In 1881, France occupied Tunisia in order to suppress border raids into neighboring French Algeria, and forced the ruling bey to relinquish his power to the French. France ruled Tunisia for the next 75 years, but for most of the years of French domination, there was an active resistance, primarily by the Neo-Destour (New Constitutional) political party.
Tunisia was formally granted independence on March 20, 1956, with Habib Bourguiba as the prime minister. In 1957, the country became a republic with Bourguiba as president. Bourgibia dominated the country for the next 30 years, running a one-party state in which he systematically attempted to reduce the power that the Islamic clergy held over education and the law. He abolished Qur’anic law courts, and lands that had financed mosques and religious institutions were confiscated. Bourguiba was elected “president-for-life” in 1975.
After some initial friction with the French regime in neighboring Algeria, Tunisia settled into a generally pro-Western foreign policy stance and supported a negotiated settlement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Consequently, Tunisia was an active recipient of American aid. In 1981, Tunisia ordered six or eight F-5Es and four F-5Fs for the Al Quwwat al Jawwiya al Jumhuriyal al Tunisiyah (Republic of Tunisia Air Force). Deliveries took place in 1984-85. These have since been supplemented by four ex-USAF F-5Es that were delivered in 1989.
The Tunisian Air Force operates a single F-5-equipped Escadrille de Chasse based at Bizerte-Sidi Ahmed. Tunisia has expressed interest in a radar upgrade for its F-5s.
Bourguiba was deposed as president in 1987, when the minister for the interior, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali had Bourbuiba declared mentally unfit for office and placed under house arrest. Ben Ali became president shortly therafter. Bourguiba died in April of 2000.
Ben Ali initially made moves to restore the Islamic clergy to prominence in Tunisia, but in recent years he has ruled in an increasingly autocratic fashion and has sought to crush Islamic fundamentalism. Opposition parties of all types are actively suppressed and the media is heavily censored. Ben Ali won election to the presidency in October 1999 by a margin of 99.44 percent, a number so vast that it has to be the result of widespread fraud. Although there are six legal opposition parties, they are virtually meaningless, and according to Amnesty International there are several thousand political prisoners held in jails in Tunisia.
A total of 16 F-5E/F Tiger II aircraft remain in service in Tunisia. Since 2013, Tunisian F-5s have been used in strike missions in support of major offensives in the border region of Mount Chaambi against Ansar al-Sharia and al-Qaeda-linked militants
Sources:
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Northrop F-5/F-20, Jerry Scutts, Ian Allan Ltd, 1986.
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F-5: Warplane for the World, Robbie Shaw, Motorbooks, 1990
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Northrop F-5, Jon Lake and Robert Hewson, World Airpower Journal, Vol
25, 1996.
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Lycos website on the history of Tunisia.
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www.hejleh.com/countries/tunisia.html
- Northrop F-5, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_F-5
