Algeria–Tunisia border
A 1,049 km line from the Mediterranean south into the Sahara, inherited from French colonial rule. During Algeria’s war of independence it was a battle line: France accused Tunisia of sheltering Algerian fighters, and in February 1958 French aircraft bombed the Tunisian border village of Sakiet Sidi Youssef.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 30 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Algeria →Tunisia →
Sakiet Sidi Youssef
While France was fighting Algeria’s war of independence next door, on 13 February 1958 Tunisia complained to the UN Security Council that French forces from Algeria had subjected the border village of Sakiet Sidi Youssef to massive bombardment and machine-gun strafing on 8 February, the latest of a series of violations of its territory since May 1957. It barred French troops stationed in Tunisia from moving and French military aircraft from flying over its territory.[2]
France countered that Tunisia was letting Algerian rebels organise on its soil and raid across the border, citing a serious incident near Sakiet Sidi Youssef on 11 January, and called the air force’s action a reaction to many provocations. The Council took up both complaints; the United States and Britain offered their good offices, and both governments accepted.[2]
A settled line
After Algeria’s independence the two countries kept the colonial line. Joint commissions demarcated the southern part after a 1970 agreement and the northern part after a 1983 agreement, using boundary markers along with natural and human features. There are no border disputes between them.[1]
Timeline
19588 February 1958
Sakiet Sidi Youssef
French aircraft bomb the Tunisian border village.[2]
195813 February 1958
Complaint to the UN
Tunisia and then France take their cases to the Security Council.[2]
1970
Southern demarcation
An agreement leads to marking the desert sector.[1]
1983
Northern demarcation
A second agreement covers the north.[1]
More borders
Sources
- [1]Algeria–Tunisia Land Boundary · Sovereign Limits
- [2]Complaints of Tunisia and France: Complaints resulting from incidents at Sakiet-Sidi-Youssef · Yearbook of the United Nations 1958 · 1958
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.