Post Revolution Violence in Tunisia (2011-)

Since the Tunisian revolution in early 2011, religiously-motivated violence has increased. Until late 2012, however, it was primarily characterized by small scale attacks and vandalism. In June 2012, for example, Tunisian Salafists angered at an arts exhibition they considered blasphemous rioted in Tunis and other cities, throwing rocks and petrol bombs at police stations and other buildings. Yet the real threat of religious violence was first witnessed in September 2012, when protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Tunis turned violent and attacked the embassy, leaving three people dead.

An unprecedented scale of religious violence was reached with the assassinations of secular leaders Belaid and Brahmi, incidents that deeply unsettled the country. The government was quick to create a list of suspects and linked Tunisia’s Ansar al-Shari`a (AST) to both killings. Yet the speed with which Ennahda presented the names of the suspects, especially at a time when political opposition blamed the Ennahda Party for the killings, should prompt caution. Indeed, as no group has declared responsibility for the killings and investigations appear to be full of loopholes, it is still not entirely clear who is responsible.

March in Memory of Chokri Belaid in Tunis, Tunisia; Feb 2015

Exact date taken unknown
Source: Webdo/Twitter