Tunisia: 800 Returning Terrorists Jailed, Tracked
Local Editor
Tunisia said Friday it jailed or closely monitored 800 terrorists who have returned from foreign battlefields in the past decade.
"Some are in prison, some are under house arrest and others are under close surveillance", government spokesperson Iyed Dahmani said of the fighters who have returned since 2007.
A little under 3,000 Tunisians joined the ranks of terrorist groups fighting in neighboring Libya, as well as in Syria and Iraq, Dahmani said.
The United Nations puts this figure at 5,000.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said all terrorists returning from fighting abroad would be immediately arrested and judged according to the country's counter-terrorism law.
Chahed said authorities had "lists of all [Tunisian] terrorists" and "all the data on them".
Last week, Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub told parliament that 800 terrorists had already returned from the front lines.
Concern about their return has increased since Tunisian Anis Amri, 24, was identified as the suspected attacker who mowed down 11 people at a Berlin Christmas market last week, and also killed the driver.
Tunisians rallied outside parliament at the weekend to protest against allowing terrorists back into the country.
The national union of internal security forces has called on the government to strip Tunisian terrorists of their nationality.
But President Beji Caid Essebsi, citing the constitution, said the authorities cannot prevent a Tunisian from returning home.
Since its 2011 uprising, Tunisia has faced repeated terrorist attacks, killing more than 100 soldiers and policemen, as well as about 20 civilians and 59 foreign tourists, according to official figures.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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