nisia: As clashes between the government and radical Salafi groups continue to rock Tunisia — epitomized by the recent arrest of some 200 members of Ansar al-Sharia on May 20th — Tunisia's political transition has suffered a new blow as opposition blocs within the National Constituent Assembly (NSA) have threate

ve in several parts of the country. Recent press reports speculate that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is hoping to forge links with Libya's Ansar al-Sharia and other Islamist groups in Libya. At the end of November, members of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) met with oil corporations in Istanbul

failure on the part of the government. This incident has resulted in a complete change in our policy towards the Salafists and [the radical group] Ansar al-Sharia. Before that, we used to try to convince them to work within the law. But from this moment on, we realized these people do not accept to work withi