Coptic Christian refugee route, Tunisia, not as secure as it appears

Insecurity and fear is back in Tunisia, which had thus far managed to avoid severe violence despite neighboring war-torn Libya, following a terrorist attack which killed four Tunisian soldiers between the night of February 17 and morning of the 18th.

ALGIERS, ALGERIA (Catholic Online) - The border between Tunisia and Algeria also remains unsecured, and jihadists continue to prepare and threaten the nation that have so far escaped the worst of the rampant Islamist movements and terrorist attacks which have targeted other North African and Middle Eastern countries.

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Tunisia's Ministry of the Interior released a statement calling the incident a terrorist attack. "Four heroes of the National Guard have been martyred," the minister wrote in a brief statement.

The four men were killed in the Kasserine region, in the northwest region of Tunisia. Kasserine is a mountainous region where Okba Ibn Nafaa-an al-Qaeda affiliate-used to inhabit.

This group was behind an attack in July of 2014 which caused the deaths of 15 Tunisian soldiers.

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Tunisia has tried to rid itself of these radical groups, but its efforts have been hindered by the rough terrain and confusing political situation in North Africa.

"The calm is just an appearance. There are a lot of dormant cells which continue their activity throughout the country. Efforts to dismantle them are underway but the reality has always shown us that it is impossible to do so with success," one local analyst said.

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