Tunisia vows to arrest killers of Ivorian national

By Yosra Ouanes

TUNIS

Tunisian authorities on Wednesday vowed to bring the killers of an Ivorian community leader to justice.

Falikou Coulibaly, the head of the association of Ivorians in Tunisia, was killed Saturday night in the capital Tunis when two men tried to steal his cell phone.

Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui held a meeting with charge d’affaires of the Ivorian Embassy, during which he offered his condolences over Coulibaly’s death.

Jhinaoui reiterated Tunisia’s keenness on providing full protection to all African communities on its territory.

An Interior Ministry spokesman earlier said the killing took place because of robbery, denying the possibility of racial motives.

Dozens of members of the Ivorian community in Tunis on Tuesday staged a rally to protest Coulibaly’s death.

In October, Tunisia became the first Arab country to approve a law criminalizing racism, a move that was welcomed by civil society organizations.