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Tunisia’s President Takes Control as Islamists Cry ‘Coup’

  • Supporters cheer as the army moves to secure parliament
  • Political infighting has stunted Tunisia’s post-2011 recovery
Kais Saied announces the dissolution of parliament on July 25.

Kais Saied announces the dissolution of parliament on July 25.

Photographer:  Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images

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Tunisia’s president fired the government and suspended parliament, plunging the brittle North African democracy into its most serious political crisis since protesters launched the Arab Spring revolts a decade ago.

The moderate Islamist Ennahda party, the dominant force in the idled parliament, accused Kais Saied of carrying out a coup. Markets tumbled at a move that could reverberate across the region.