Port El Kantaoui Attack (2015)
The Port El Kantaoui Attack occurred on June 26, 2015, at a popular resort in Tunisia, resulting in the deaths of thirty-eight people and injuring thirty-nine others, primarily European tourists. The assailant, Seifeddine Rezgui, a Tunisian student influenced by radical Islamist ideology, launched the attack with an assault rifle, targeting beachgoers and tourists. This tragic incident followed other terrorist activities in Tunisia, including the Bardo National Museum attack earlier that year, which further heightened concerns over security in the region.
In the aftermath, the Tunisian government faced significant scrutiny regarding its counter-terrorism measures and response to the attack, with several officials dismissed for their handling of the incident. The attack led to a decline in tourism, a vital sector for Tunisia’s economy, prompting the government to consider new anti-terrorism laws and increase police powers. The incident sparked widespread protests and discussions about the rising radicalization among Tunisian youth and the challenges faced by the country in addressing extremist threats. The Port El Kantaoui Attack remains a significant event in Tunisia’s ongoing struggle with terrorism and its impact on national stability and public safety.
Subject Terms
Port El Kantaoui Attack (2015)
The Port El Kantaoui mass shooting was an armed attack at the Tunisian resort community of Port El Kantaoui, just north of the coastal city of Sousse. The attack killed thirty-eight people and wounded thirty-nine others, most of them European (mainly British) tourists visiting the resort. The shooter, who also died in the attack, was later discovered to be a Tunisian student who had become interested in radical Islamist movements, including the Syrian terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Date: On June 26, 2015, an armed man carrying an assault rifle attacked tourists on the beach at the Port El Kantaoui resort near the city of Sousse, Tunisia.
Place: Sousse, Tunisia
Key Events
- March 18, 2015-Three radical Islamists kill twenty-two people at Bardo National Museum in Tunis. The terrorist group ISIS later takes responsibility for the attack.
- June 26, 2015-Around 11:30 a.m., student Seifeddine Rezgui arrives at the beach at Port El Kantaoui and begins shooting beachgoers, targeting foreign tourists; around 12:30 p.m., Rezgui is shot and killed by police as he attempts to flee the scene.
- June 29, 2015-British home secretary Theresa May visits the site of the attack.
- July 4, 2015-Tunisian president Beji Caid Essebsi orders the removal of the Sousse provincial governor along with several high-ranking police officers in the province.
- July 22, 2015-Tunisian legislators begin debate on new anti-terrorism laws, penalties, and prevention powers for local police and military.
Status
As of the end of 2015, the British government continued to advise travelers against "all but essential travel" to Tunisia. Also, a state of emergency imposed by the Tunisian government after a November 2015 suicide bomb attack in Tunis was extended through February 2016. As tourism revenues account for more than 14 percent of the nation's annual revenues, the Tunisian government is struggling to develop new preventative measures to address the radical Islamist threat. A large number of popular demonstrations were held in 2015, with citizens gathering to protest terrorism and to show solidarity in defense of their nation.
In-Depth Overview
Though a majority of the Tunisian population is Muslim, Tunisia avoided widespread terrorist violence throughout most of the 2000s. The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, in 2010 and 2011, was a series of popular uprisings against the presidential regime of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, a former military leader who served as Tunisia's president from 1989 to 2011. Increasing unemployment and Ben Ali's violent treatment of political opponents and the press were primary factors in the revolution, which resulted in Ben Ali and his family fleeing to Saudi Arabia in January 2011.
Following the Jasmine Revolution, a transitional government was formed in preparation for democratic elections held in 2014. With Ben Ali's removal, extremist Islamic groups spread, and a larger number of young Islamist Tunisians joined Islamic cells in Syria and Tunisia. Critics of the new government, and of elected secularist president Beji Caid Essebsi, have claimed that the government violates Islamic law and propagates immoral Western philosophy and culture.
On March 18, 2015, three gunmen attacked visitors and employees at the Bardo National Museum in the Tunisian capital of Tunis. The attack killed twenty-two people, and was, at the time, the deadliest terrorist attack in Tunisian history. Though the terrorist group ISIS took responsibility for the attack, analysts have doubted the legitimacy of this connection.
On June 26, 2015, at approximately 11:30 a.m., twenty-three-year-old Tunisian college student Seifeddine Rezgui arrived at the beach near the Hotel Riu Imperial Marhaba at the Port El Kantaoui resort on the Mediterranean Sea. Rezgui arrived at the beach via a boat or Jet Ski, carrying a Kalashnikov assault rifle concealed within a beach umbrella. According to witnesses, Rezgui brandished his weapon and walked the beach laughing and making jokes as he selected and killed tourists he found on the beach. On several occasions he chose to spare native Tunisians, allowing them to leave.
Rezgui walked through the pool area of the Riu Imperial Marhaba, where he killed several more tourists. Rezgui then returned to the beach, where he ran past Hotel Riu Bellevue and along an adjacent street. While running down a street, Tunisian builder Mayel Moncef threw tiles at Rezgui from the roof of a nearby building. Rezgui began firing in the street as police arrived. Police shot and killed Rezgui at approximately 12:30 p.m.
While Tunisian authorities reported that Rezgui acted alone, several individuals were arrested in connection with the attack and were believed to have provided Rezgui with weaponry and help in planning the attack; however, none was convicted. It was soon revealed that all the people killed in the attack were foreign tourists, though several Tunisians were among the injured.
Subsequent investigations indicated that Rezgui, an engineering student, had been a fan of Western hip hop and dancing and had only recently become interested in radical Islamist philosophy. Rezgui had conducted significant research on ISIS leading up to the attack. Tunisian police believed that Rezgui had been recruited by local Tunisian terrorist group Ansar al-Sharia, though this connection has not been definitively proven by authorities.
In the wake of the attack, the United Kingdom issued a travel advisory for Tunisia, warning citizens not to travel to the nation except on essential business. UK home secretary Theresa May was one of a group of British officials that visited Tunisia in late June to pay respects to the victims of the attack. In July, the Tunisian government announced that several high-ranking police officers and other officials in the Sousse city and provincial government had been removed from their posts due to their alleged failure to efficiently handle the incident. According to analysis, police did not arrive at the scene for more than forty minutes after the shooting started. In late July, the Tunisian government began debating new anti-terrorism legislation that would allow death sentences for offenders and would give law enforcement additional powers to conduct surveillance.
Key Figures
Seifeddine Rezgui: Tunisian engineering student who attacked tourists at the Port El Kantaoui resort on the Mediterranean Sea.
Beji Caid Essebsi: President of Tunisia since the 2014 presidential elections.
Bibliography
Borger, J. (2015, June 26). Tunisia resort gun attack: British tourists among the dead. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/tunisia-resort-gun-attack-britons-believed-to-be-caught-up-in-incident
Botelho, G. (2015, June 27). Terror attacks on 3 continents; ISIS claims responsibility in Tunisia, Kuwait. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/26/africa/tunisia-terror-attack/
Mendick, R., Espinoza, J., Farmer, B., & Badcock, J. (2015, June 28). Terror on the beach: The full story of the Tunisia beach terror attack. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/tunisia/11703817/Terror-on-the-beach-The-full-story-of-the-Tunisia-beach-terror-attack.html
Stephen, C. (2015, July 4). Tunisia beach attack: Local heroes now face unemployment. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/05/tunisia-beach-attack-local-heroes-unemployment
Tunisia attack: What we know about what happened. (2015, June 30). BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33304897