TUNIS
An anti-terrorism march kicked off Sunday in Tunisian capital with the participation of tens of thousands of citizens and several Arab and world leaders amid a strong security presence.
The march, which comes in the wake of a deadly attack on Tunis' Bardo Museum earlier this month, headed towards the museum where a memorial for the victims of the attack will be inaugurated.
"This march reflects the national unity of Tunisians, irrespective of their political persuasions, in standing against terrorism," Hussein Tarabulsi, a citizen from the country's northwestern region, told The Anadolu Agency.
"The participation of [world] leaders and public officials affirms that the terrorism phenomenon is a global one that everyone is keen on eliminating," Tarabulsi said.
Mahdi Zoraibi, who travelled from Tunisia's southern region to attend the march, for his part, told AA that "terrorism has no place among Tunisians."
"Tunisia is a conservative Muslim country built on the values of tolerance and fraternity, which stand in stark contrast to terrorism and the killing of innocent people," Zoraibi said.
Sunday's march coincided with Tunisia's announcement that the leader of the group suspected to be behind the attack has been killed along with eight other militants in a security operation in the southwestern province of Gafsa.
The march is akin to the one held in France in January following the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, a march that saw the participation of over 40 world leaders.
At least 24 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed and over 47 injured earlier this month when gunmen stormed Tunis' Bardo Museum.
The attack ended when Tunisian security forces raided the museum, killed two gunmen and liberated the tourists inside.
Tourists from Italy, Japan, Poland and Spain were among those killed in the attack, the responsibility for which was later claimed by a Daesh-affiliated group.
Tunisian Interior Minister Najem Gharsalli sacked several senior security officials a few days after the attack.
