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Pilgrimage
Tunis, May 11, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Tunisian authorities deployed security forces around Ghriba Synagogue resort island on Thursday, a day before an annual pilgrimage to the site was set to begin, Ghriba Association head Perez Trabelsi said.
“More than 3,000 people are expected to make the pilgrimage to Ghriba Synagogue on Djerba Island in the south-east part of Tunisia.
“The pilgrimage, which runs through May 14, comes as the region struggles with an Islamist insurgency’’, he said.
In 2002, a suicide attack targeted the synagogue, leaving 21 dead including 14 German tourists.
In 2015, the North African country saw a string of attacks that hit the tourism industry – a main source of income for Tunisia.
Most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State extremist militia.
In recent months, Tunisia has stepped up a nationwide clampdown on suspected extremists in an effort to clean up its international image.
Tunisia’s Jewish community has dwindled to about 2,000 at present from 100,000 in the mid-20th century. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/ Idahosa Asowata