Tunisia in fear of ISIL terror attacks: Prime minister
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid has defended the recently imposed state of emergency, saying his country fears more "terrorist attacks" similar to the recent incident that claimed the lives of 38 foreign tourists.
“We are engaged in a ferocious war against terrorism to protect lives and property, defend the republican regime... the civil state and its institutions," said Essid addressing the parliament on Wednesday.
Tunisia declared a 30-day state of emergency shortly after the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the June 26 attack at a tourist resort at Port El Kantaoui, about 10 kilometers north of the city of Sousse, which killed 30 Britons, three Irish nationals, one Belgian, one Portuguese, one Russian, and two German tourists.
"We would not have felt obliged to decree the state of emergency if we were not convinced that our country was facing numerous terrorist plans to destabilize the country," he noted.
The premier also voiced fears that the terrorist group has planned other operations “aimed at killing the maximum number of people, undermining morale, and grinding the national economy to a halt."
Several rights groups have also warned that the state of emergency should not threaten freedoms obtained since the 2011 revolution, which overthrew dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
“Whatever it takes, we will prevail over terrorism,” he said, adding that the nation’s rights will “not be touched.”
Defense barrier
Also on Wednesday, the Tunisian Defense Ministry announced the completion of a 186-kilometer barrier flanking the Libyan border, from Ras Ajdir on the Mediterranean coast to Dehiba in the east of Tataouine province.
Work on the barrier began in April and is expected to finish by the end of the year, said Defense Ministry official Belhassan Oueslati. The barrier’s construction was initially announced in March after 22 people were killed in an ISIL terrorist attack on a museum in the country’s capital city of Tunis.
According to reports, the perpetrators of both the beach and museum attacks received terrorist training in Libya.
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