Tourists scramble to leave Tunisia after massacre
Hundreds of foreign tourists have begun leaving Tunisia a day after a deadly terrorist attack in the country’s coastal city of Sousse.
Tunisian officials said on Saturday that nearly 1,400 foreign tourists have already left Tunisia and 15 extra flights are scheduled to depart the North African country.
Sources say tourists have crowded into the Enfidha-Hammamet International Airport near the resort city of Sousse, where a shooting spree on Friday killed 39 people, mostly foreign tourists.
At least 13 aircraft took off from the airport during the night.
Meanwhile, Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid on Saturday promised financial rewards for information leading to the arrest of anyone connected to the attack.
“The fight against terrorism is a national responsibility,” Essid said on Saturday, adding, “We are at war against terrorism, which represents a serious danger to national unity during this delicate period that the nation is going through.”
Tunisia’s Interior Ministry has identified one attacker as Seif al-Din Rezgui, who was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces. It is not known, however, if and how many others were involved.
The attack was claimed by the ISIL terrorist group, which is mainly operating in Iraq and Syria.
The shooting followed a March attack claimed by the ISIL terrorist group on Tunis’ Bardo National Museum, which killed over 20 foreign tourists and a policeman.
Experts say the attacks are certain to seriously damage Tunisia’s economy, which is heavily dependent on the tourism industry.
JR/HJL
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