'Gaddafi's wife, daughter in Tunisia'

Tunisia, officially the Tunisian Republic, is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just over 10.4 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the north-east.

Tunisia is the smallest of the nations situated along the Atlas mountain range. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline. Both played a prominent role in ancient times, first with the famous Phoenician city of Carthage, then as the Roman province of Africa, which was known as the "bread basket" of Rome. Later, Tunisia was occupied by Vandals during the 5th century AD, Byzantines in the 6th century, and Arabs in the 8th century.

Under the Ottoman Empire, Tunisia was known as "Regency of Tunis". It passed under French protectorate in 1881. After obtaining independence in 1956 the country took the official name of the "Kingdom of Tunisia" at the end of the reign of Lamine Bey and the Husainid Dynasty. With the proclamation of the Tunisian republic on July 25, 1957, the nationalist leader Habib Bourguiba became its first president.

The country was governed by the authoritarian regime of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from 1987 to 2011 before he fled during the Tunisian revolution. Tunisia, an export-oriented country in the process of liberalizing and privatizing an economy that has averaged 5% GDP growth since the early 1990s, had suffered corruption benefiting the former president's family.

Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab League and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs. The government's approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict has also made it an intermediary in Middle Eastern diplomacy

The Times of India: 'Gaddafi's wife, daughter in Tunisia'MOSCOW: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's wife Safiya and his daughter Aisha have fled to Tunisia, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday , citing a source in Tunisia's defence ministry.

According to the sources, Safiya and Aisha crossed the Libyan-Tunisian border a few days ago and are currently at a refugee centre on the island of Djerba. The revolt in Libya against Gaddafi's 41-year rule, which began in mid-February , has already claimed thousands of lives, with Gaddafi's troops maintaining their combat capabilities despite Nato air strikes against them.

The air strike on a wealthy residential area in Tripoli a week ago killed Gaddafi's youngest son and three of his grandchildren, as well as several friends and neighbours.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi's forces intensified their campaign to take strategic heights in a western mountain range and targeted a road that many people have used to flee the fighting in Libya, forcing the temporary closure of a border crossing to Tunisia.

Much of the fighting centered around the town of Yafrin, and residents and rebel fighters said Wednesday that Gaddafi forces were using Grad missiles and rockets in their nearly monthlong siege. Residents , trapped in homes, were cut off from food and medical supplies, they said