News / North Africa

Tunisia prolongs post-bombing state of emergency

Tuesday, 22 December 2015 6:55 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 22 December 2015 6:55 PM ]

A Tunisian policeman stands guard near the scene of a bomb attack in Tunis, Tunisia, November 25, 2015. ©Reuters

Tunisia has extended for another two months a state of emergency declared following a recent deadly bombing by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in the North African country.

Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has "decided on an extension of the state of emergency over all the territory" of the country "until February 21, 2016," according to a presidential statement published on Tuesday.

The state of emergency was imposed on November 24, after a bomb attack on a bus carrying presidential guards left 12 people dead and 16 others injured in the capital city of Tunis. The measure had been due to expire on December 23.

The state of emergency empowers Tunisian authorities to prohibit strikes by workers and meetings that might fuel unrest. It also permits officials to close entertainment venues and censor the press.

Tunisian citizens leave flowers and light up candles at Mohamed V Avenue in Tunis on November 26, 2015 in memory of those killed in the November 24 bomb attack. ©AP

Following the bombing, Tunisia also imposed a curfew in the capital and shut the border with Libya, where investigators believe the November attack was planned. The curfew was lifted and the border was reopened earlier this month.

Tunisia has been plagued by violence since the 2011 uprising, which ousted former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had been in power for over two decades.

Two earlier attacks in Tunisia, which were claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, targeted the National Bardo Museum in March and a resort hotel in the city of Sousse in June, killing a total of 60 people.

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