Belaïz: “Terrorism has no country and no nationality”

State Minister of the Interior and local Assemblies, Tayeb Belaïz, has flatly ruled out the linking of terrorism with Algerian nationality, specifically with regard to the terrorist attack that killed 23 people in Tunis last week as Tunisia announced that the mastermind of this ill-fated attack was an Algerian called Khaled Shayeb, nicknamed “Lukman Abu Sakher”.

According to Mr Belaïz, “terrorism has no place, whether it has an Algerian nationality or not, terrorism has no country, no religion and no human feelings, and there’s no difference whatsoever between a terrorist and another terrorist, he explained. “

In response to a reporter’s question about the Tunisian President’s declaration made in a recent  interview with French media outlets, regarding the implication in the museum attack of an Algerian terror chieftain, Mr Belaiz declined to comment affirming however that terrorism has no nationality, no country and no religion.

Mr Belaiz’s comments came while his Tunisian counterpart, Nadjem Al Gharsali, revealed the outcome of the investigation into the recent terrorist attack on the Tunis Bardo Museum, which pointed at the direct involvement in the operation of terrorist ringleader Khaled Shayeb, according to Tunisian security sources.

State and Interior Minister Tayeb Belaïz said: “Algeria is playing a crucial diplomatic role in the fight against terrorism, not least because of its telling experience in tackling terrorism in the 1990s.”

Mr Belaïz highlighted how the Arab Spring revolts of 2011 had played a part in causing instability across the Middle East and North Africa.

“Profound political changes in some Arab countries following the so-called Arab Spring have in some cases led to worsened internal conflicts and instability,” he said.

“This has created a favorable environment for the proliferation and dissemination of criminal and terrorist groups,” he noted.

Mr Belaïz said Algeria was “extremely active” in the relentless fight against the scourge of terrorism in neighboring Tunisia, Libya and Mali.