US general warns of al-Qaeda threat in Tunisia

Outgoing US Africa command head says secular government doing ‘everything it can to prevent al-Qaeda from establishing a presence’

27 March 2013, 9:46 pm

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Supporter of the Islamist party Ennahda, hold Tunisian and party flags during a rally in Tunis, Tunisia on February 16, 2013. (photo credit: Amine Landouls/AP)

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The chief of the US Africa Command has warned about al-Qaeda attempts to gain a foothold in Tunisia.

Gen. Carter Ham told Tunisian radio late Tuesday that “it is very clear to me that al-Qaeda intends to establish a presence in Tunisia.”

The North African nation of 10 million was the birthplace of the 2011 pro-democracy Arab Spring uprisings and has since seen a rise in radical Islamic movements.

Ham said that following talks with the government, which is led by moderate Islamists, he is convinced it is “committed to doing everything it can to prevent al-Qaeda from establishing a presence.”

Ham, who took over Africa Command in March 2011 and is stepping down, was on a regional tour that included visits to southern Algeria and Libya.