Two worshipers taking part in a Jewish pilgrimage on the island of Djerba, east of Tunisia, died Tuesday night in an attack perpetrated by a gendarme who also killed two of their companions, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior.
Four other visitors to the Ghriba synagogue were injured, as well as five security officers, before the attacker was killed, the ministry said.
Worshipers took part in a ritual at the Ghriba synagogue, the oldest in Africa, which in 2002 had been the target of a truck bomb attack that left 21 dead. The gendarme initially killed one of his companions and took his ammunition. He then went to the surroundings of the synagogue where he opened fire on the security forces guarding the place. Another gendarme was killed and five others wounded. Two people in the synagogue were killed by the attacker’s shots, the ministry added.
(You can read: Curiosities of Africa: what you should know before traveling to this continent).
We stand by Tunisia to continue the fight against antisemitism and all forms of fanaticism
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs specified in a statement that the two dead faithful were “a 30-year-old Tunisian and a 42-year-old Frenchman“. France on Wednesday condemned the attack, which it described as an “atrocious act”.
“We stand by Tunisia to continue the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of fanaticism,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre.
“The United States deplores the attack carried out in Tunisia (…) We express our condolences to the Tunisian people and salute the swift action of the Tunisian security forces“State Department spokesman Matthew Miller wrote on Twitter.
(Also: Evacuations of foreigners from Sudan begin amid uneasy truce.)
The attack occurred at a time when hundreds of worshipers were taking part in the annual Ghriba Jewish pilgrimage, which ended Tuesday night at the synagogue. Security forces “surrounded the synagogue and guarded everyone inside and around it,” according to the Interior Ministry.
“Investigations continue to clarify the reasons for this cowardly attack,” Added the dependency.
AFP
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