Aouissaoui’s Brother to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Didn’t Know of His Plans

Brahim al-Aouissaoui. (Reuters)
Brahim al-Aouissaoui. (Reuters)
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Aouissaoui’s Brother to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Didn’t Know of His Plans

Brahim al-Aouissaoui. (Reuters)
Brahim al-Aouissaoui. (Reuters)

The family of the Tunisian perpetrator of the Nice church attack stressed on Friday that he had never showed signs of extremism.

They told Asharq Al-Awsat that they were in shock over the news that their son, Brahim al-Aouissaoui, was involved in the killing of three people at Notre Dame Basilica in Nice on Thursday.

Aouissaoui, 21, hails from the impoverished city of Kairouan. His family moved to Thina, a dowdy suburb of Sfax, where Aouissaoui was the main breadwinner as both of his parents are unemployed.

His parents and nine siblings had not seen him since September when he boarded a small boat for Lampedusa, the Italian island that is a main arrival point for immigrants to Europe.

In a telephone call to Asharq Al-Awsat, his brother Yassin said Brahim had lived a normal life and never showed any signs of extremism and had never criticized his social status despite the difficulties he was enduring.

The family is still in shock and has yet to fathom that Brahim had committed the Nice terrorist attack, he added.

The family had not even known that he had traveled secretly to Italy and had never even imagined his intentions, he continued.

Brahim, he stated, worked various jobs, including motorcycles mechanic and at an olive press, before departing onboard an illegal journey to Italy about a month ago. He had saved some 1,200 Tunisian dinars (around 435 dollars) to pay for the trip.

He then made his way to France and contacted his family, informing them that he was searching for a place to stay. He said he may stay near the church and those where the last words they head from him before receiving news of the attack. He has since been detained by the authorities.

Tunisia has for years battled an extremist security threat, though police have grown more effective. Terror attacks in Tunisia in recent years have mainly been carried out by people radicalized online rather than in mosques, diplomats say according to Reuters.

On Friday, the state news agency reported that authorities had approved an investigation into social media claims attributing the Nice attack to a previously unknown group called “The Mahdi Organization in Southern Tunisia”.



Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Our Top Priority is Energy Support

The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)
The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)
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Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Our Top Priority is Energy Support

The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)
The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)

Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Anatolii Petrenko, stressed that his country’s “top priority is energy support in multiple ways,” pointing to preparatory measures between Saudi Arabia and Ukraine concerning a Saudi aid package, most of which consists of energy equipment.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Petrenko said that the Kingdom has been assisting Ukrainian civilians since the early days of the “full-scale Russian invasion,” as he described it. He said Saudi aid “has helped provide decent living conditions for our people, who have been forced by the war to relocate to safe areas within the country. It has also helped us maintain citizens' access to medical services and sustain social infrastructure.”
The ambassador emphasized the difficult period Ukraine is facing due to “energy shortages caused by regular Russian attacks on critical infrastructure,” which previously ensured daily needs for urban and municipal areas. He expressed concern about the approaching winter season and the severe drop in temperatures across the country.
Petrenko pointed to the need for energy resources, as well as access to light, water and heat, to enable the Ukrainian agricultural sector to continue contributing to global and regional food security.
He expressed his country’s firm belief in the importance of Saudi Arabia’s support to bring energy self-sufficiency in Ukraine, presently and in the long term.”
He added: “Through our united efforts, we can enhance the green energy agenda by smartly utilizing diverse renewable energy sources as key resources that can give us complete energy independence.”
The Ukrainian ambassador described the Saudi friendship as “an Arab generosity.” He noted that both Ukraine and the Kingdom were jointly studying “the latest innovations and sustainable technologies, such as combined heat and power plants and piston turbines, which could offset energy losses in various regions of Ukraine and thus prevent humanitarian crises in the winter season for hundreds of thousands of people.”
On the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day, Petrenko stated that his country “stands firmly to celebrate another anniversary of its independence, while appreciating the immense contributions and aid provided by international partners and friends, including Saudi Arabia, which holds a prominent position in leading humanitarian efforts in the region and encourages others to follow the same approach.”
“This represents a success story that will open a new chapter in energy resilience, which helps us achieve national independence,” he underlined.
The ambassador added that Ukraine highly values its bilateral relations with the Kingdom.
“On behalf of my country, I express my gratitude to Saudi Arabia, both the government and the people, for everything they are doing to alleviate the humanitarian challenges facing civilians today,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Riyadh continues to send planes carrying tons of humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRELIEF).
This follows an agreement and memorandum of understanding signed by both sides last year, which included providing an additional humanitarian aid package to Ukraine amounting to $400 million, as well as emergency medical and shelter aid valued at $10 million for refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries, particularly Poland, in coordination with the Polish government and UN organizations.