16 May 2017 | 02:30 PM UTC
Tunisia: State of emergency extended for one month
President Essebsi announces the extension of the state of emergency for one-month on May 16; measures to remain in place until at least mid-June
Event
On Tuesday, May 16, President Beji Caid Essebsi announced that the ongoing state of emergency will be extended by one month. The law grants authorities additional powers in the name of maintaining civil order, as part of wider counter-terrorism efforts. Under the law, authorities can ban strikes and gatherings that might provoke or cause disorder, temporarily close theaters and bars, and secure control over the press and all types of publications. The decision was made due to the continued instability on the country's borders as well as general national security concerns.
Context
The current state of emergency has already been extended numerous times and Tunisia has been under a near-constant state of emergency since June 2015. Although briefly lifted in October 2015, it was reinstated following the November 24, 2015, bus bombing that killed a dozen security guards in downtown Tunis.
Authorities frequently dismantle suspected terrorist cells in counter-terrorism operations conducted across the country, particularly focused in the eastern Chambi mountain region (Kasserine governorate), where a number of terrorist groups are entrenched. According to estimates by the Ministry of the Interior, several thousand Tunisian nationals are currently fighting for Islamic State (IS) and other armed groups in Iraq and Syria, raising fears that they could return to Tunisia to perpetrate attacks.
Advice
Individuals in Tunisia are advised to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities, particularly when visiting sites deemed particularly likely to be targeted in an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, markets, hotels and restaurants frequented by foreigners/Westerners, festivals, etc.). Certain Western governments advise against travel to the south of the country, e.g. regions on the borders with Algeria and Libya, and the Kasserine region, due to the presence of armed groups.
