Tunisia has declared a state of
emergency, just over a week after 38 tourists, mainly Britons, died in
an attack in the resort city of Sousse.
The state of emergency gives security forces more powers and limits the right of public assembly.
Authorities had already tightened security, deploying more than 1,400 armed officers at hotels and beaches.
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said in a national address that "exceptional measures" were needed.
The state of emergency would be in place for a renewable period of 30 days.
Security
forces were criticised for not responding more quickly to the attack on
26 June in Sousse, when a gunman opened fire on tourists on a beach and
in a hotel before being shot dead by police.
Those killed included 30 Britons.
The gunman has been identified as student Seifeddine Rezgui, who authorities say had trained in Libya.
Tunisian
Prime Minister Habib Essid conceded in a BBC interview on Friday that
the slow response of the police was a key problem.
He said Rezgui
had probably trained with the Ansar al-Sharia group, though Islamic
State (IS) earlier said it was behind the attack.
Media caption"The time of [police] reaction - this is the problem," Tunisia's PM Habib Essid told Richard Galpin
Eight people have been arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Rezgui, and the government says it has uncovered the network behind the Sousse attack.
Authorities
have also pledged to close some 80 mosques that were operating outside
government control and accused of spreading extremism.
Analysts
say Tunisia has been put at risk by the chaotic situation in
neighbouring Libya, and by the danger posed by Tunisians who have gone
to fight in Syria and Iraq returning home.
In his speech on Saturday, Mr Essebsi spoke in general terms about the threat posed by Libya.
He
also spoke at length about the economic and social challenges facing
the country, including high unemployment and poverty in the country's
interior.
The last time Tunisia declared a state of emergency was
in 2011, in the uprising which overthrew President Zine al-Abidine Ben
Ali. It was lifted in March 2014.
Officials are expected to pass a counter-terrorism bill that has been in parliament since early 2014 in the coming weeks.
The
Sousse attack represented the second blow in three months to Tunisia's
tourism industry, an important sector for the country.
In March, two gunmen killed 22 people at the renowned Bardo museum in Tunisia's capital, Tunis.
Are you in Tunisia? What do you think of the latest developments? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your experiences.
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