Fresh terror attack in Tunisia ‘highly likely’ tourists warned

The UK Foreign Office warned on Thursday that a further terrorist attack was “highly likely” following the massacre at a beach resort in Sousse at the end of June.

The FCO said it was working with tour operators including Thomas Cook (TCG.L) and TUI Travel (TUIT.L) (TUIGn.DE), to bring holidaymakers back to the UK.

The Foreign Office has told British tourists: “we do not believe the mitigation measures in place provide adequate protection for British tourists in Tunisia at the present time and we have therefore changed our travel advice accordingly”.

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC: “While we do not have any information suggesting a specific or imminent threat, since the attack in Sousse the intelligence and threat picture has developed considerably leading us to the view that a further terrorist attack is highly likely”.

Tunisian prime minister Habib Essid, speaking in a parliamentary debate, said his government “did everything in our power to protect (British) citizens and their interests, as well as those of all other countries”.

Coaches carrying the holidaymakers are being given an armed military escort to Enfidha airport, which is itself heavily protected following the two attacks on tourists this year; in March the Bardo Museum in the capital, Tunis, was the scene of another massacre.

Holidaymakers should contact their tour operators about returning to Britain and independent travellers should make their own arrangements to leave, the FCO said.

Meanwhile the Danish government on Friday advised its nationals in Tunisia to leave the country unless they had “essential” reasons for being there. Spokesman Ian Benjafield said the company would get people home “whatever way we can”.

The United Kingdom decision is a major blow to Tunisia’s tourist industry.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry said it was observing the situation closely and adjusting travel advice regularly, the Associated Press reported.

Our Embassy in Madrid, which is accredited to Tunisia, will be notifying those Irish citizens who are resident in the country of the changes to the travel advice.

That decision, too, was in response to the June 26 attack in which a gunman opened fire at the beachfront Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba in the coastal city of Sousse.

“The authorities are unable to secure the tourist areas’ safety adequately”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, but stopped short of urging tourists to leave.

Thousands of tourists are already being flown home, with extra flights being laid on.