Fleeing Tunisia dictator wanted to turn back: recordings

Published by
Al-Araby

Toppled Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was mulling a return home even as he was aboard a plane taking him into exile in 2011, according to a recording published by the BBC on Friday. The audio excerpts, if genuine, offer a rare insight into the final hours of the late autocrat’s 23-year-rule. The British broadcaster released them on the 11th anniversary ofBen Ali’s flight to Saudi Arabia on January 14, 2011, following four weeks of vast street protests. They appear to be of calls Ben Ali held with key allies including his defence minister and the chief of the army. The BBC said it h…

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