Extremist Arrested after Knife Attack Near Tunisia’s Parliament

An AFP file photo shows a policeman in Bardo square in Tunis.
An AFP file photo shows a policeman in Bardo square in Tunis.
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Extremist Arrested after Knife Attack Near Tunisia’s Parliament

An AFP file photo shows a policeman in Bardo square in Tunis.
An AFP file photo shows a policeman in Bardo square in Tunis.

A suspected militant was arrested on Wednesday after wounding two policemen in a knife attack near the parliament building in the Tunisian Capital, the interior ministry said.

The assailant was known to authorities and said after the attack that he considered the police to be "tyrants", according to the statement.

One of the policemen was taken to hospital for treatment after being injured in the neck, while the other was only lightly wounded, it said.

Large numbers of police were deployed to Tunis’ Bardo square in the aftermath of the attack, a witness said. Blood could be seen on the ground in the square.

The square is opposite the parliament building and close to the Bardo museum, the site of a militant attack against foreign tourists that killed 21 people in March 2015.

An official at the police station where the man was taken after being detained said the attacker was in his 20s and appeared "very aware of what he did".

"He spoke calmly and showed no remorse," the official said, asking to remain anonymous.

Tunisia suffered two other major attacks that year, one against tourists at the beach resort of Sousse and the other against presidential guards in the capital.

Since then, security has been boosted at strategic sites while Tunisian authorities have cracked down on militants, dismantling dozens of networks.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.