Gunmen slaughter museum visitors
Gunmen armed with assault rifles stormed a major museum in Tunisia’s capital yesterday, killing at least 20 people, most of them European tourists, in a country widely viewed as one of North Africa’s rare democratic success stories.
Security forces killed two gunmen and detained a third, but some assailants may have escaped before the three-hour standoff ended, Tunisian officials said.
It was unclear who was behind the attack. Tunisia is regarded as one of the region’s more stable countries, but authorities have struggled to contain Islamist extremists who periodically attack the security forces.
As many as 3000 Tunisians may have joined Islamic State and other groups fighting in Syria and Iraq, according to government estimates. Militants affiliated with al Qaeda’s North Africa franchise are also believed to be active in the country, which shares a porous border with volatile neighbour Libya.
‘‘What happened is a great calamity for Tunisia,’’ President Beji Caid Essebsi said while visiting a hospital where some of those injured yesterday were being treated. ‘‘Tunisia must enter a state of general mobilisation to face this terror threat.’’
Tunisia is where the string of uprisings now known as the Arab Spring began in 2011. In the four years since the overthrow of longtime strongman Zine el Abidine ben Ali, the country has agreed on a new constitution, staged peaceful parliamentary elections and seen a nonviolent transfer of power by Islamists who had moved to the political fore after the uprising.
But regional experts warned that the attack could undermine faith in the new government and lead to an aggressive crackdown. ‘‘There’s a worry that people will correlate democracy with deteriorating security,’’ said Shadi Hamid, a Middle East scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington. ‘‘That kind of sentiment can be dangerous for a young, fragile democracy.’’
The attack on the National Bardo Museum struck a blow at government attempts to revive the tourism industry, a key source of revenue and jobs in a country beset by poverty and high youth unemployment.
Cruise ships dock in Tunis and hundreds of tourists visit the Mediterranean capital. The museum, which is housed in a 15th-century palace and features a large collections of Roman mosaics, is among the country’s main attractions.
Five tour buses were parked outside when the gunmen struck shortly after noon, said Mohammed Ali Aroui, an Interior Ministry spokesman. The assailants opened fire on one bus, killing seven tourists and a Tunisian cleaning woman. They then advanced on the nearby national
Police fight back: parliament, where lawmakers were reported to be discussing anti-terrorism legislation.
Security forces guarding the parliament fired at the attackers, who retreated into the museum and took 20 to 30 people hostage, officials and witnesses said.
Television video from the scene showed panicked visitors, many elderly, running from the museum. Security forces escorted dozens more to safety, officials said.
‘‘I saw death with my own eyes,’’ said Lamine Chtoui, a 16-year-old high school student waiting to catch a bus home when he heard the gunshots. ‘‘I wanted to check what happened when I saw police coming from everywhere, surrounding us and taking us away . . . ‘‘I was afraid that there were bombs or terrorists around. My mum was also scared; she took three hours to find me.’’
Ahmed Bouhrizi, a Tunisian tour guide, had just finished showing a group of Spanish-speaking visitors around the museum and was escorting them back to their bus when the gunfire erupted. The group ran for cover, he said. When the shooting stopped, he returned to check on those who had already boarded the bus and found a couple dead.
‘‘ This is not Tunisia. Tunisia is a peaceful country,’’ he lamented.