Tunisia tourism challenged after recent attacks

Tunis Tunisia, already destabilized by a political crisis, suffered a blow to its vital tourism industry after a suicide bombing and another that was foiled in two coastal resort towns.

Tunis Tunisia, already destabilized by a political crisis, suffered a blow to its vital tourism industry after a suicide bombing and another that was foiled in two coastal resort towns.

Only the suicide bomber was killed on Wednesday in an attack on a beachside hotel in Sousse, and the security forces thwarted another attempted suicide attack soon after in neighboring Monastir.

The interior ministry said its special forces arrested five Salafist โ€œterroristsโ€ directly linked to the first suicide bids in the North African country for more than a decade.

It said those behind the attacks belonged to Ansar Al Sharia, Tunisiaโ€™s main Salafist movement, which the authorities have designated a โ€œterrorist organizationโ€ with ties to Al Qaeda.

The presidency insisted the attacks, which have yet to be claimed, would not โ€œderailโ€ the democratic transition.

In the first attack, the suicide bomber โ€œblew himself up on a beach in Sousseโ€ near the four-star Riadh Palms hotel, interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Laroui said. There were no other casualties.

The bomber tried to enter the hotel by a back door but was spotted by guards and chased away before blowing himself up on the nearby beach that was deserted, witnesses said.

A spontaneous protest broke out in the center of Sousse โ€œto condemn terrorism,โ€ they added.

Within half an hour, security forces foiled another suicide attack by an 18-year-old man on the tomb of former president Habib Bourguiba, in Monastir, 20km along the coast.

Residents said they saw the would-be attacker behaving suspiciously in a cemetery near the tomb and reported him. He was arrested by presidential security guards.

Private radio station Mosaique FM identified the suspect as Aymen Saadi Berchid and said four arrest warrants had previously been issued for him.

The attacks are likely to fuel fears for the stricken tourist sector, which has been largely untouched by the surge in jihadist violence since Ben Aliโ€™s ouster and which generates vital revenues for the cash-strapped government.

Extra security was meanwhile deployed at hotels in Tunis amid fears of another attack.

One newspaper said the attacks meant โ€œterrorism is now targeting tourism.โ€

โ€œThe target now is the beating heart of the Tunisian economy,โ€ read the editorial in the Une le Temps daily.

Mohamed Ali Toumi, the head of a Tunisian travel agentsโ€™ federation, called for hoteliers to be โ€œvigilantโ€ as his organization offered support to any guests who might have suffered trauma.

โ€œThank God there were no casualties, but hotel guests need psychological support,โ€ TAP news agency quoted him as saying.

The French embassy also urged โ€œincreased vigilance,โ€ and advised its citizens to avoid meeting places.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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