Tunisia boils after AFRICOM announces deployment of forces in country

Mustafa Kamel

Controversy has broken out in Tunisia after the US military command in Africa, AFRICOM, announced its intention to deploy security forces in the country as a precaution against movements in Libya and fears about Russian activity, which sparked anger within Tunisian circles and prompted political parties to express their total rejection of this military presence.

This debate over the rejection of the American military presence has been raised previously on many occasions, especially after the signing of the American-Tunisian Memorandum of Understanding in 2015 during the rule of late Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. Tunisia’s official position has been consistent in this regard, as it has always affirmed its refusal for its territory to be used by foreign forces or for the United States to establish military bases on Tunisian soil.

During a phone call between AFRICOM commander Stephen Townsend and Tunisian Defense Minister Imad al-Hazgui on Thursday, May 28, AFRICOM announced the possibility of deploying security surveillance forces in Tunisia, expressing concern about Russian military activities, as Washington considers Russia a contributor to the ongoing conflict, which is a serious concern.

AFRICOM was subsequently forced to issue a clarification on Saturday, May 30, in which it confirmed that it would only send a training unit to Tunisia and would not have plans for combat missions. The US embassy in Tunis announced that the AFRICOM commander’s conversation with the Tunisian defense minister was limited to the possibility of concentrating a small security training unit for military assistance and not a military base as is being promoted. It added that this is part of the military assistance program and is not intended in any way to be a combat mission, noting that the move falls within the framework of the partnership between the two countries.

Although the US embassy in Tunisia denied the news, Al-Hurra channel, which is close to US decision-making circles, said that the United States is considering using one of its brigades for security assistance in Tunisia, pointing out that AFRICOM indicated in a statement that it has growing concerns about regional security in North Africa due to Russia fueling the flames of the Libyan conflict.

Rejecting the military presence

On the other side, the Republican Party in Tunisia expressed its rejection of any foreign military presence under any cover, noting the danger of foreign interference in the Libyan conflict and its adherence to the establishment of a democratic civil system within the framework of international legitimacy and the unity of the state and Libyan territory. It demanded that the door be permanently closed to every attempt to lure Tunisia into the politics of the axes or from allowing its lands to be used as a staging point for interference in neighboring Libya’s affairs.

The opposition leftist Workers Party also issued a statement of protest, expressing its strong rejection of the deployment of any US forces, considering it a dangerous step that represents a flagrant violation of Tunisia’s sovereignty and would involve it in the Libyan conflict, which is becoming increasingly dangerous with the expanded regional and international interventions attempting to determine who will control Libya’s natural resources, foremost of which are oil and gas.

National powers in Tunisia are enlisting to counter this step and to prevent Tunisia from becoming a military base for American forces to interfere in Libya and turn it into a new Syria, which would cause further harm to the Libyan people and threaten the security of all countries in the region, particularly Tunisia.

The Tunisian government previously denied any intention to establish a US military base on its soil, stressing that the memorandum of understanding concluded in 2015, which provided for several items, including combating terrorism, border control, joint security coordination, and entry facilities for the foreign military sales program, does not contain any terms that are binding on the state.

Farhat Horchani, former minister of defense in the government of former Prime Minister Habib Essid, said that the memorandum of understanding is the general framework that enables the Tunisian state to conclude agreements in the future, stressing that the United States’ decision to give Tunisia the status of a non-NATO ally was made with several other countries and is a privilege related to the field of armament and training and has nothing to do with NATO. He denied that the goal of this capacity in NATO is to install an American military base, noting that the sovereignty of Tunisia is above all interests.