The Jewish pilgrimage to the Ghriba in Tunisia, the largest Jewish gathering on the African continent, ends in blood. An armed attack killed four people there last night, including two civilians. The assailant was also shot dead. An assault that reminds Tunisians of very bad memories. The place of worship had already been the target of a terrorist attack in 2002.
All evening, videos showing pilgrims confined to the grounds of the Djerba synagogue circulated on Tunisian social networks without anyone knowing what was going on there. A confusion to which the Ministry of the Interior put an end late in the night by confirming that an attack that targeted the pilgrimage of the Ghriba had indeed taken place.
It is a member of the maritime national guard who, again according to the Tunisian authorities, killed one of his colleagues, stole his weapon, and then went to the synagogue. Near the place of worship, he then opened fire on the police who were securing him. The assailant then caused another death in the ranks of the police and also killed two civilians.
Thousands of pilgrims
The attack brings back memories of the 2002 tanker attack that killed 21 people. The Ghriba pilgrimage, which attracts thousands of pilgrims each year, has since been under very close surveillance by the Tunisian authorities.
Organized on the 33rd day of Passover, the Ghriba pilgrimage is at the heart of the traditions of Tunisians of the Jewish faith, who are no more than 1,500, mostly settled in Djerba, against 100,000 before independence in 1956. Other pilgrims also traditionally come from European countries, the United States, or even Israel, but their number decreased considerably after the 2002 attack.