The Middle East Channel

The sick man of the Middle East

At around 11 p.m. Tuesday, U.S. East Coast time, unconfirmed reports of a coup in Tunisia spread across Twitter like wildfire, fueled by a rumor mill that has gone into overdrive since riots broke out this month outside the Tunisian capital. "Phone confirmation that the army has surrounded the ministry of interior," tweeted Wessim Amara, ...

By , a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images

At around 11 p.m. Tuesday, U.S. East Coast time, unconfirmed reports of a coup in Tunisia spread across Twitter like wildfire, fueled by a rumor mill that has gone into overdrive since riots broke out this month outside the Tunisian capital.

At around 11 p.m. Tuesday, U.S. East Coast time, unconfirmed reports of a coup in Tunisia spread across Twitter like wildfire, fueled by a rumor mill that has gone into overdrive since riots broke out this month outside the Tunisian capital.

"Phone confirmation that the army has surrounded the ministry of interior," tweeted Wessim Amara, a user based in Tunisia. Another, Fouad Marei, followed: "Tweeps unanimously confirm: #coup against #BenAli regime. Mainstream media continues to talk of clashes, no confirmation of #SidiBouZid coup."

Read more.

 

Blake Hounshell is a former managing editor of Foreign Policy.

Read More On Agriculture | Law | Liberalism | Middle East and North Africa

Latest

Bukele’s Bitcoin Mess and the U.S.-Backed Bank That Enabled It

Britain’s Navy Is Diminished. Its Ambitions Are Not.

How Centrists Helped Geert Wilders Win the Dutch Election

Why Gaza Won’t End Up Like East Timor or Kosovo

Will the Congolese Opposition Unite?
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    Demography Is Destiny in Africa
  2. 2
    What Was Hamas Thinking?
  3. 3
    How Centrists Helped Geert Wilders Win the Dutch Election
  4. 4
    America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
  5. 5
    The Global North Is Alienating the Global South Before COP28 Even Starts
  6. 6
    Bukele’s Bitcoin Mess and the U.S.-Backed Bank That Enabled It

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.

Trending

  1. Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
    Argument
    Annie Sparrow

  2. Britain’s Navy Is Diminished. Its Ambitions Are Not.
    Dispatch
    Alexander Wooley

  3. What Geert Wilders Wants in Europe
    Argument
    Caroline de Gruyter

  4. The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
    Argument
    Nona Mikhelidze, Nathalie Tocci

  5. How Centrists Helped Geert Wilders Win the Dutch Election
    Argument
    Thijs Kleinpaste