Heightened Vigilance To Ensure Free Movement of Algerian Tourists In Tunisia

The Director General of the Tunisian Security Services, Mr. Rashad al-Tayeb, has pointed to the hiking of the degree of security coordination between Algeria and Tunisia, stressing to this effect that the security units of the two neighboring countries are bound by a daily coordination to combat the terrorism scourge, through a steadfast work of research and investigation focusing on updated information.

 He also indicated that his country’s authorities have taken a number of new measures to welcome Algerian tourists in good conditions during the upcoming summer season.

“There is a state of vigilance by the Tunisian and Algerian forces, and the question of strengthening border security and control is our main concern,” Rashad al-Tayeb told “Echorouk” on the sidelines of the first assembly of the African Union Police Cooperation Mechanism “Afripol” held on Monday in Algiers. 

To protect the borders of the two countries, he stated that the relevant authorities have been tightening the screws on the networks of support for terrorist groups, and are pursuing the work of intelligence, so as stave off any breach of the border by tightening the grip on the crossing points, and these firm measures, he added, will preclude the smuggling of weapons and drugs and the movement of terrorist groups through the common border.

He further affirmed that the Tunisian-Algerian security units are staging almost daily meetings to coordinate the two sides’ positions in order to efficiently confront terrorism and cross border smuggling. 

He said that “security operations are almost daily undertaken to dismantle the terrorist cells with continuous raids to weed out terrorism support networks between Algeria and Tunisia and which are bolstered by other networks of neighboring countries”.

 “There are red lines that cannot be bypassed and Algeria is now enjoying a good and respectful international opinion in this respect as it does not interfere in the affairs of any other country, even if it is a neighboring and brotherly country like Tunisia,” he emphasized.

Mr Rashad al-Tayeb also revealed new measures taken by his Government to enable the largest number of Algerian tourists eager to spend the summer holidays in Tunisia in adequate conditions, and whose number is expected to exceed three million during this year.

He pointed out in this connection that new facilitation measures had been taken by the relevant Tunisian authorities including the speeding up of registration and transit procedures for all passengers through crossing points and border posts.