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| Africa North | |
| Jebel Chaambi slaughter spurs Tunisia to action | |
| 2014-07-22 | |
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisia tossed in the calabooseYouse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! 63 suspected forces of Evil in El Kef, Sidi Bouzid and Kasserine provinces at the week-end, the interior ministry announced Saturday (July 19th). "The security and military units were able during the campaign to capture the dangerous terrorist, Makram Mouelhi," the ministry said. The operation followed the death of 15 soldiers last week in the Jebel Chaambi military zone along the Algerian border in an attack by 40 to 60 terrorists. In conjunction with the counter-terror sweep, Tunisian authorities launched a crackdown on all mosques outside state control. The mosques number around 40 and are run by radical imams. In justifying the move to close radical mosques, the government said it was not an act against religious worship, noting the state sponsored religion and fostered freedom of belief. Authorities also said some of the shuttered mosques celebrated the deaths of the slain soldiers. It promised to re-open these places of worship as soon as they were neutralised and subject to the supervision of the state. The government also closed two religious radio stations, Nour and al-Insen, for broadcasting speech calling for religious hatred and intolerance. Tunisians welcomed the government's action. "This is what we have been waiting for since the beginning of the terrorist attacks in our country about two years ago," commented Miriam Kaitouni. "A courageous decision was needed." The security cell set up by the prime minister on July 17th aims at paralysing terrorists.
Associations tied to terrorism will be suspended. In another move, the army will grow by some 3,250 troops, and the National Guard will add 500 members. The series of actions against the terror threat came just days after citizens rallied in the capital to demand action. A vigil was held Thursday outside the municipal theatre in Tunis. The gathering to mourn the slain soldiers turned into a march condemning terrorism, with attendees accusing the previous government of failing to take tough measures against Islamic myrmidon groups, especially Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... Participants called on the government to speed up the issuance of the new law on terrorism, which is still under discussion in the Constituent Assembly. Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou also called for the bill passage. He revealed that six terror plots targeting vital government installations, politicians, and security forces were foiled during the first 19 days of Ramadan. "We will seek to bring about a national agency of information to track and block sites that incite and encourage terrorism and also to take back mosques, which are still under myrmidon groups. I call on the citizens to inform about all suspicious movements," Ben Jeddou said. The interior minister also called for a social truce for three months so that security forces could be devoted to fighting terrorism instead of taking care of protests and sit-ins. | |
| Posted by:Fred |