On July 20, 1961 (the eighth day of the sixth lunar month), French and Tunisian troops exchanged fire.

On July 20, 1961, French troops involved in another North African dispute broke through the siege of the Vise Naval Base and entered the city of Tunis. The French army used aircraft, tanks and machine guns to launch an attack at dawn, killing more than 100 Tunisian soldiers. At the United Nations Tunisia asked France to withdraw its troops from bases in the Mediterranean. Shortly after the fighting, new troubles emerged in Algeria, where Islamists clashed with French garrisons.