They ran over children and raped women... a French massacre in Tunisia's Tazirkah
On January 18, 1952, the national movement in Tunisia entered a decisive phase of the struggle against the French colonialists, after that day the New Destourian Party announced, in a secret conference, the outbreak of the armed struggle and the liberation battle against France, so the entire country rose in an armed revolution against the French presence after Paris ignored the Tunisian demands, denied its previous promises, and appointed John de Hotcloak as resident general (governor) over the country, so he entered it on the back of a warship to intimidate and terrorize the Tunisians.
France confronted the Tunisian decision with extreme violence, and launched an unprecedented repressive campaign against Tunisians in various regions of the country, and committed terrible massacres against civilians and resistance fighters, including the massacre of the town of Tazarga in the tribal homeland in the far north-east of the country, which took place in late January, It killed about 200 people in one night.
Treachery night...
In the book “Rebel Tunisia” by Ali Al-Balhawan (1909-1958), one of the symbols of the national movement in Tunisia, he mentioned that the town of Tarzga was at that time “a small village isolated from the main roads, and famous for the activity of its people and their love of work, and their work in agriculture, and the number of its men did not exceed the seven hundred.”
Despite the confrontations between the Tunisians and the French on several fronts, historians unanimously agree that there were no justifications for storming the town and committing a massacre in it, especially since it did not participate in the strikes and confrontations that Tunisia experienced during that month, and its people did not demonstrate against the French, because there were no gendarmes in the village. French or any permanent French presence.
France launched an unprecedented repressive campaign against Tunisians in various parts of the country, and committed terrible massacres against civilians and resistance fighters, the most prominent of which was the massacre of Tazirkah.
In a statement to the historian Muhammad Dhaifallah confirms that there is no clear motive for the French forces to carry out this terrible massacre in the region, pointing out that the French forces entered Tazirkah as part of a combing campaign in light of the events taking place in the country.
The events of Tazirka began on the morning of January 29, 1952, when the French army stormed the town while it was surrounded by the third division of the paratroopers of the Foreign Lviv (forces made up of soldiers from the colonies), which had come from France a few weeks ago to conduct special missions in Tunisia.
In the book “Revolting Tunisia,” the writer recounts that the mayor “opened the door and found himself in front of a group of soldiers who asked him to call a herald to gather the residents in the public square. Some of the soldiers climbed the roofs while the residents rushed to gather, and from the first moments, Mustafa Ben was shot. Muhammad Al-Masadi, upon entering one of the streets leading to the meeting square, fell down dead.
The French army gathered all the men who were in the town, and announced in the public square that it would demolish the homes of the absent men. Hours after storming the town, they started dynamiting the houses after looting all their contents, according to Al-Balhawan.
Thus, the French army blew up dozens of houses in Tazerga, in retaliation against the residents, as a collective punishment for them, and the French looted all their contents, not even the jewelry that the women wore, and they tore the clothes, scattered the contents of the houses, and destroyed the supplies that the people hoarded.
As stated in the book "Rebel Tunisia": "Other shops were hit, including five grocery stores; all their materials were looted, as was the shop of the barber Salih Jouaia, and the offices of the authorized persons were also looted, and books, contracts and other official documents were torn and scattered on the ground."
The French army tried to humiliate and terrorize the population and tamper with all their material and moral possessions, so they attacked their sanctities, according to what Al-Balhawan mentioned, by "desecrating the mosque" and "tearing up the Qur'ans and religious books."
Killing infants and raping women
In his testimony before the Truth and Dignity Commission, on November 17, 2016, the fighter Hammadi Ghars said that the French army went to Tazirkah on January 28, 1952, and removed the men from their homes and gathered them in Batha under heavy security, then the soldiers returned to Houses to destroy women's honor, and kill infants.
Ghars added that the men used to hear the screams of their women, daughters, and mothers who were being raped, indicating that every man who tried to move to save his family was killed directly.
The French committed a terrible massacre in Tazerga against the defenseless citizens, especially the women and young children among them. While the men of the village were crowded in the public square and threatened all day long, the women were facing the worst violations from the occupation soldiers, and wrestled with them in order to save their lives and their honor, and they showed courage and composure on that day. Great is what made them an example to follow and showed valor and perseverance, according to some accounts.
The French army went to Tazirkah on January 28, 1952, and took the men out of their homes and gathered them in Batha under heavy guard, then the soldiers returned to the homes to violate the honor of the women and kill the infants
Ali Al-Balhawan says: “The abuse of Tunisians aimed at deeply hurting them, and touching their traditions and spirituality, and that is why the soldiers unleashed that night on women in the absence of their men, knowing from the colonizer that every Muslim woman whose sanctity is violated suffers an eternal disgrace, and she becomes as if she is an outcast from the society".
The soldiers took turns raping some of the women, to the point that the girls preferred to commit suicide rather than be a prey for the occupation soldiers. Belhawan says: "M.J., 16 years old, was pulled from her bed, and when the soldier threatened to rape her, she ran away and threw herself into the well."
The rape incidents were the most horrific incidents that took place on that terrifying night, and some sources mentioned that many mothers used to take their daughters out of their rooms and push them into a well to throw themselves in.
One of the most egregious acts committed by the French soldiers in the village of Tazirkah was the killing of infants by trampling and throwing them on the ground. All reports and correspondents of foreign newspapers agreed, according to what was mentioned in the book “Rebel Tunisia”, that “a 20-day-old baby girl was killed, while a 45-year-old baby was taken away.” One day from his mother, a soldier trampled him underfoot, while another snatched a five-month-old baby from her mother’s lap and threw her to the ground with violence that led to her death, while a one-and-a-half-year-old girl whose mother fled to the roof was thrown, and a soldier caught up with her and raped her. When she returned home, she found her daughter dead.
A massacre to scare the Tunisians
The historian and professor at the Tunisian University, Muhammad Daifallah, said that the Tazirga massacre in January 1952 came within the framework of the French occupation army's combing of the tribal homeland with the start of the armed struggle on the 18th of the same month, indicating that the occupation army began combing Tazirga for fear of Hiding the weapons of the resistance fighters, being one of the closest cities to the capital.
In a statement to Dhaifallah added that one of the goals of this heinous massacre was to intimidate the resistance fighters on the grounds that French colonialism does not tolerate rebellion, which is why the occupiers used extreme violence.
Entry to Tazarka remained forbidden to Tunisians and others, and in fact it remained cut off from the world for months on end.
Dhaifallah stated that the combing operation in the tribal homeland targeted several towns, but Tazarga was the most affected city, due to the number of victims and the atrocities its people were subjected to.
The speaker stated that those who were attacked in Tazerga were unarmed civilians, and did not take up arms against the French army at the time, unlike some massacres that took place in other regions, such as the battle of Barqo in November 1954, indicating that the matter is linked to a massacre against Basically civilians.
Daifallah pointed out that several areas in the tribal homeland were subjected to persecution and massacres with the aim of intimidating them for fear that weapons would be hidden by the resistance fighters there, such as the towns of Bani Khallad, Kelibia and many other areas.
Complaint to the Security Council
Entrance to Tazarga remained forbidden to Tunisians and others, and in fact it remained cut off from the world for several consecutive months, to the extent that the Tunisian newspaper Al-Sabah wrote in its May 21, 1952 issue that the local authorities in Tazarga were opening an investigation with every visitor to the region, even those who were He visits his family or friends from among them, and it prevents him from staying there for more than a few hours.
The newspaper stated that a search was opened with the host or relative with whom the visitor stays, thus preventing many members of the Tazirki families residing in Tunisia from visiting their families.
The French army left Tazirka permanently, on February 3, 1952, while the echoes of the French massacres in Tazirka reached the corridors of the United Nations, as an international investigation committee was formed from the International Trade Union Confederation (SIZL), and the leadership of the national movement, represented by Saleh Ben Youssef and Muhammad Badra, filed a complaint against France before the Security Council in New York in 1952, and presented pictures of this terrible massacre, while the armed struggle continued in Tunisia until the end of 1954, when an agreement was reached on internal independence, which was achieved in June 1955, and paved the way for full independence months later.
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