Ireland advises against travel to Tunisia

Ireland on Friday advised its fellow people to avoid non-essential travel to Tunisia in light of increased security concerns.

"We are encouraging any Irish visitors to Tunisia to review whether their presence in Tunisia is essential and, when it is not, we are advising them to leave by commercial means," Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in its latest travel alert.

This is the second-highest warning category on Ireland's five-point scale for travel advice, according to Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan.

"Since the brutal terrorist attack on tourists in Sousse on June 26, where three Irish citizens tragically lost their lives, we have been in ongoing contact with our international partners and relevant agencies to continually assess the security situation in Tunisia," Flanagan said.

He believed that relatively few Irish visitors are currently in Tunisia.

He said the Irish embassy in Madrid, which is accredited to Tunisia, will be notifying those Irish citizens who are residents in the country of the changes to the travel advice.

"I strongly encourage Irish citizens in Tunisia who are not yet registered with the department but who plan to remain in Tunisia to register without delay," he added.

The British Foreign Office has already advised against all but essential travel to Tunisia and urged British tourists to leave the country. It follows new intelligence that a terrorist attack was "highly likely."

Three Irish people and 30 Britons were among the 38 holidaymakers killed in a terror attack in the resort town of Sousse last month. Endit