http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/
Tunisia’s Borders: Jihadism and Contraband
Middle East and North Africa Report N°148 28 Nov 2013
148-la-tunisie-des-frontieres-jihad-et-contrebande
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Tunisia is embroiled in recurrent political crises whose origins in security concerns are ever more evident. While still of low-intensity, jihadi attacks are increasing at an alarming rate, fuelling the rumour mill, weakening the state and further polarising the political scene. The government coalition, dominated by the Islamist An-Nahda, and the secular opposition trade accusations, politicising questions of national security rather than addressing them. Meanwhile, the gap widens between a Tunisia of the borders – porous, rebellious, a focal point of jihad and contraband – and a Tunisia of the capital and coast that is concerned with the vulnerability of a hinterland it fears more than it understands. Beyond engaging in necessary efforts to resolve the immediate political crisis, actors from across the national spectrum should implement security but also socio-economic measures to reduce the permeability of the country’s borders.
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