On Thursday, 9 July, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office posted a travel advise for British tourists. London recommendations were to avoid “non-essential” travel in Tunisia and visit that country only if necessary.
Areas like the Chaambi Mountain and territories bordering on Algeria and Libya should not be visited at all, the British Foreign Office warned.
According to the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Hammond “measures taken by the Government of Tunisia are not sufficient to ensure the safety of British tourists.”
Prime Minister of Tunisia Habib Essid admitted that “had the government not been convinced that the country has to face numerous terrorist plans aimed at destabilizing the situation, it would not be forced to declare the state of emergency.” The Prime Minister also stressed that Tunisian authorities “are doing everything possible” and are prepared to “ensure the best possible conditions for the repatriation of all British citizens and for protecting those who will choose to stay.”
It may be appropriate to mention here again that of the 38 people who were killed on 26 June in a terrorist attack by a 23-year old Tunisian in a hotel in Port El Kantaoui, 30 were British citizens.
Following the terrorist attack in the Bardo National Museum in the capital on 18 March, which claimed the lives of 22 people, the citizens of many countries launched numerous “I Shall Travel to Tunisia This Summer” campaigns in social networks in support of Tunisia. There were no similar large-scale campaigns after the El Kantaoui terror attack.
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