Tunisia

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Days of political turmoil in Tunisia over a crippled economy and surging coronavirus infections have left the country’s allies in the Middle East, Europe and the United States watching to see if its fragile democracy will survive.

European countries — most notably nearby Italy — worry about a flood of migrants should Tunisia slide further into chaos.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s president has named a new interior minister, in his first major appointment since he froze parliament and seized executive powers earlier this week amid protests and an economic crisis.

President Kais Saied named Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to the post on Thursday night. The Interior Ministry oversees domestic security, including policing.

29 July 2021; MEMO: Egyptian security officials were present when the Tunisian prime minister was beaten before he resigned, Middle East Eye (MEE) has reported.

On Sunday, Tunisia's President Kais Saeid assumed emergency powers to sack the prime minister, suspend parliament and assume authority of the government.

28 July 2021; MEMO: Speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, announced that his Ennahda party is seeking to form a national front to counter the decisions recently taken by Tunisian President Kais Saied.

TUNIS, July 27 (Reuters) - Tunisia's biggest party, the moderate Islamist Ennahda, on Tuesday called for a national dialogue to get the country out of crisis after it accused the president of a coup when he dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament.

In a reversal of a call early on Monday to its supporters to take to the streets against President Kais Saied's actions, Ennahda urged dialogue and efforts to avoid civil strife.

26 July 2021; MEMO: Tunisian security forces have stormed the offices of Al Jazeera and expelled its staff, the media group announced on social media.

"Security forces involved in the raid said they were carrying out instructions and asked all journalists to leave," it added on its website.

26 July 2021; MEMO: The Tunisian army this morning prevented Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi from entering Parliament, while President Kais Saied was seen celebrating his decision to freeze the government.

Hours following Saied's announcement to freeze parliament and sack the government, Ghannouchi along with several MPs headed to the parliament building but they were stopped from entering by the army.

TUNIS, July 26 (Reuters) - Tunisia faced its worst crisis in a decade of democracy on Monday after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliament with help from the army in a move denounced as a coup by the main parties including Islamists.

It follows months of deadlock and disputes pitting Saied, a political independent, against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and a fragmented parliament as Tunisia has descended deeper into an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

KESRA, Tunisia (AP) — Soldiers hold rifles to guard the health center in the traditional Tunisian village of Kesra, while inside, military medics use other weapons to combat COVID-19: vaccines.

Tunisia is facing its worst coronavirus surge since the pandemic began, further stressing the North African country’s already crowded hospitals and health system. That has forced some regions to go back into lockdown and prompted waves of donations of vaccines or medical aid from China, France, Turkey, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Algeria.

13 July 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdulaziz has ordered medical supplies be sent to Tunisia, including one million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, in response to a recent appeal by the African state's President Kais Saied.