Tunisia: fears grow of further attacks
A series of critical security lapses have led the West to doubt Tunisia's ability to combat terrorists
By Mourad Teyeb, Tunis
The UK government's decision to evacuate British citizens from Tunisia comes amid growing dissatisfaction with how the country's government has reacted to the terrorist threat.
Local reports have identified a number of critical security lapses and intelligence failures.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In 2012, the attack on the US embassy in Tunis came just a few days after the US consulate in Benghazi was assaulted. Tunisian authorities said that the attack could not have been anticipated despite demonstrations by protesters carrying Al-Qaida flags and chanting anti-western slogans just days earlier.
Ali Larayedh, Tunisia's then minister of the interior, admitted to having "failed to protect the embassy".
Another significant lapse came in 2013, when warnings sent to the interior ministry about possible threats to the life of left-wing politician Mohamed Brahmi were apparently overlooked. A leaked document appears to show that the CIA sent an urgent warning to the ministry ahead of Brahmi's assassination on 25 July 2013.
This year's attack on the Bardo Museum in central Tunis is regarded by most Tunisians as a significant security failure. The museum is only meters away from the country's parliament. In the wake of the attack, Tunisia's prime minister sacked six police chiefs.
British authorities now appear to doubt the Tunisian authorities' ability to investigate the Sousse attack. Shortly after Tunisian inquiries began, Britain dispatched a team from Scotland Yard to conduct an independent review of the massacre, rather than waiting for local investigators to come back with their own report.
Despite the imposition of a state of emergency in Tunisia, little appears to have changed. Last week, one Scotland Yard investigator reportedly had his suitcase stolen at the capital's main airport.
Meanwhile, resentment is growing across the country following the closure of a number of mosques.
Seven months after the election of the Nidaa Tounes party, dissatisfaction with the performance of Tunisia's president Beji Caïd Essebsi is growing not only within Tunisia, but in the West as well.
As well as being a popular British tourist destination, Tunisia plays host to several British investments in its energy sector. Political instability and the growing terrorist threat are a concern to businesses as well as holidaymakers.
As the dissatisfaction grows, protests by the so-called "Winou el pétrole?" ("where is our oil?") movement are set to resume once Ramadan is over. Concern is now growing that the demonstrations could turn violent.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Italian senate passes law allowing anti-abortion activists into clinics
Under The Radar Giorgia Meloni scores a political 'victory' but will it make much difference in practice?
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Magazine interactive crossword - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - May 3, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - May 3, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Sydney mall attacker may have targeted women
Speed Read Police commissioner says gender of victims is 'area of interest' to investigators
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why are kidnappings in Nigeria on the rise again?
Today's Big Question Hundreds of children and displaced people are missing as kidnap-for-ransom 'bandits' return
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
The Red Army Faction: German fugitive arrested after decades on run
Why Everyone's Talking About Police reward and TV appeal leads to capture of Daniela Klette, now 65
By The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
How the idyllic Galapagos Islands became staging post in world drug trade
Under the radar Ecuador's crackdown on gang violence forces drug traffickers into Pacific routes to meet cocaine demand
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Armed gangs, prison breaks and on-air hostages: how Ecuador was plunged into crisis
The Explainer Gangs launch deadly revenge after president declares state of emergency following escape of feared drug boss from prison
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Ecuador tips toward chaos amid prison breaks, armed TV takeover
Speed Read New President Daniel Noboa authorized the military to 'neutralize' powerful drug-linked gangs after they unleashed violence and terror across Ecuador
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Prague shooting: student kills 14 people at university
Speed reads Police believe suspect, who killed himself, may have shot his father before carrying out mass murder
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published