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By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 19 March 2015:
The official government in Beida and the Hassi administration in Tripoli have condemned . . .[restrict]yesterday’s killings in Tunis, both calling the attack on the Bardo Museum an act of terrorism.
The internationally recognised government of Abdullah Al-Thinni has said it stands alongside the Tunisian people in their fight against the “terrorist groups and extremist organisations” that carried out the attack.
It said the security of Libya and the security of Tunisia were one and the same, denouncing the the shootings as a “criminal act which threatened security and peace and was meant to destabilise the Tunisian Republic”.
According to an Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman, Rafik Chelli, the two gunmen, both Tunisians, had been recruited in Tunisia and went to Libya for training in September.
Prime Minister Thinni has spoken with the Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, offering his condolences to the Tunisian people and confirming Libya’s support for its neighbour.
The Hassi administration has also denounced the attack saying it was opposed to violence and calling on the international community to mobilise to combat terrorism.
Hassi’s Minister of Justice Mustafa Kalib met today with the Tunisian Consul General to Libya, Ibrahim Rizki, the pro-Libya Dawn, Tripol-based office of the news agency LANA reported. The two men are reported to have discussed security and cooperation on counter terrorism measures.
The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack on Tunis’ Bardo museum, which left 23 dead including 20 foreign tourists. It is the first time IS has carried out a major terrorist operation on Tunisian soil.
IS has been responsible for a string of atrocities in Libya. However, there is now at fightback against the extremist group by Libya Dawn forces in Sirte where the IS militants had been growing in number.
During fighting on Tuesday in Sirte, a Tunisian member of the Jihadi group, a prominent commander, Ahmed Rouissi, was shot and killed. Some 20 IS members are reported to have been killed in the operation.
It is believed that a sizeable proportion of foreign IS fighters in Libya are of Tunisian origin. The government’s information chief, Omar Gawairi has put their number at 4,000.
Last night, in the immediate aftermath of the museum attacks, there were fears among the many hundreds of thousands of Libyan exiles in Tunisia that they would be blamed by Tunisians for them. However, Libyans in the Tunis today report that Tunisians have not done so, saying instead that both countries are under attack from fanatics.
Nine individuals have been arrested in Tunis in connection with yesterday’s attacks, the news agency Reuters has reported. Increased security measures are in place across the Tunisian capital with authorities saying they are ready to deploy the armed forces, if necessary, to ensure order.
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