|
|
Terrorist Assault in Tunis Pushes Region to Wider War
19 March 2015
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid speaks during a press conference after an attack carried out by two gunmen at Bardo International Museum on March 18, 2015 in TuniEIRNS —An armed assault today by gunmen in Tunis which killed 22 people, marks an ominous turn toward spreading war in the region of northern Africa, which will seriously affect BRICS-collaborator Egypt, as well as other countries in the region. The conditions for conflict in Tunisia result from two factors: the global financial empire’s Arab Spring destabilization, which eliminated a long-time dictator but provided no development opportunity for the country, and the turning of neighbouring Libya into a failed state dominated by militias which are controlled by the same financial empire. The attack by as many as five gunmen on international tourists at the Bardo Museum, in the heavily-guarded Parliament compound in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, led to the deaths of 20 foreign tourists and two Tunisians. After the initial attacks on tourists outside the museum, the gunmen took about 20 hostages inside the museum, where the rest of the victims were killed. Two of the gunmen were killed by law enforcement officers. President Beji Caid Essebsi said that the two gunmen had three accomplices who are now the subject of a manhunt. Tourism is a very significant source of income for Tunisia, and the attack will reduce the number of tourists, and hence worsen the already gloomy prognosis for employment. This is the beginning of the tourist season, which had dropped by 21% last year, after the beheading of Herve Gourdel in Algeria, and was just beginning to recover. The Bardo museum is one of Tunisia’s leading tourist attractions. It displays Tunisia’s history and contains one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world. It has just been completely refurbished, and is often referred to as Tunisia’s Louvre. Prime Minister Habib Essid, who was named Jan. 5, 2015, head of a secular-Islamist coalition government, gave a gloomy televised message on TV March 16 about the economy, while emphasizing the fight against terrorism. This economic problem will now be magnified. The destruction of Libya also enhanced the unemployment problem in Tunisia, as many Tunisians had been able to work there. That has left the unemployed as easy picking for the jihadist militias who pay them to join. An increase of islamist groups has been reported lately. 2,000-3,000 Tunisians are fighting with jihadists in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. And Tunisia is the biggest foreign contributor of people to IS in Syria, according to reports. The danger for Tunisia is that 500 jihadists have returned to Tunisia, according to Tunisian police, and are considered the biggest threat to security. Tunisians who have fought with IS in Syria and Iraq, have recently threatened their homeland. The introduction of IS into next-door Libya raises the stakes in the region. Longtime British jihadi operative, from Libya, Abdelhakim Belhadj, who has recently been reported to be heading IS in Libya, has been spending a lot of time in Tunisia. Belhadj is a specialist in playing an important role in making a nation ungovernable, as he has demonstrated in Libya. Douglas DeGroot |
