Tunisia beach attack results in state of emergency – World – CBC News

A state of emergency temporarily gives the government more flexibility and the army and police more authority, and restricts the right of public assembly.

It was not immediately clear why President Beji Caid Essebsi made a decision to declare the state of emergency on Saturday, or what it would entail.

President Beji Caid Essebsi’s office says in a statement that he needed the powers that come with the declaration to more effectively deal with the threat from extremists.

Security forces were criticised for not responding more quickly to the attack in Sousse, when a gunman opened fire on tourists on a beach before entering a hotel.

The final five bodies of British victims killed in last weekend’s Tunisia beach attack will be flown back to the United Kingdom today.

Tunisian authorities have also pledged to close almost 80 mosques accused of spreading extremism.

Islamic State militants, controlling large parts of Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for the Tunisian attack.

Tourists and Tunisians gathered at the scene of the attack in Sousse, where they linked arms to observe the pause.

The June 26 beach attack was the second deadly attack on tourists in three months, following a shooting rampage at its national museum in Tunis that killed 22 people.

The last time Tunisia declared a state of emergency was in 2011, in the uprising which overthrew President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

The connection highlights the risks Tunisia faces as its larger neighbor descends into anarchy, with rival governments fighting each other as well as Islamic State militants looking to use the oil producer as a springboard for attacks in Europe.