France and Tunisia to work closer on anti-terror fight

Aug 5, 2015 French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve recently met with his Tunisian counterpart to announce a renewed partnership between both countries in the fight against terrorism. This was necessitated following recent attacks in Tunis and Sousse.

Cazeneuve confirmed that the partnership will include the provision of dog teams specialized in explosives detection and also training on specialized intervention techniques to Tunisian units.

“Tunis’ anti-terror center, with which UCLAT (French counter-terrorism co-ordination unit) has established a privileged link, will be assisted and we will work together in particular on the issue of de-radicalization, taking advantage of the French experience to develop a reinforced cooperation with our Tunisian friends. Two training programs focused on the fight against document fraud will be launched in our administrations and our training centers for Tunisians teams. And after that, we are going to organize the training of Tunisian intervention units by the GIGN (National Gendarmerie Intervention Group), the FIPN (Intervention Force of the national Police), the RAID (French Police Intervention Force) and training sessions for handling terror attacks, crimes scenes and the protection of public figures,”

Tunisia’s parliament recently approved a legislation that allows the death penalty for those convicted on terrorism charges and Tunisian security agencies have been on high alert, since the attacks on the seaside resort of Sousse and the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

Tunisian interior minister, at a news briefing said:

“We’ve become a country threatened by terrorism because we decided to join the club of democratic countries. We have become a country threatened by terrorism because we’ve decided and are determined to defend the same human values as our European, American colleagues and all others worldwide,”