Tunisia riots: Thomas Cook evacuates tourists

Publié le 14 janvier 2011 sur le site telegraph.co.uk

Thomas Cook, the British tour operator, is evacuating about 1,800 tourists from Tunisia, as unrest spreads across the country.

The company said it had not seen any specific problems for travelers in Tunisia but was asking everyone to leave as a precaution. The evacuation, which was coupled with the cancellation of flights from Britain to Tunisia, was likely to hit the North African nation's tourism industry, a mainstay of its economy, hard.

Tunisia has been rocked by unrest sparked by anger at unemployment and at a leadership many see as controlling and corrupt, and at least 23 people have died. On Thursday, Britain's Foreign Office changed its advice regarding Tunisia, warning against non-essential travel there.

Thousands of angry demonstrators marched through Tunisia's capital Friday to demand the resignation of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

"We've taken the decision to bring them back to the UK as soon as we can, using our fleet of aircraft today," Thomas Cook Group PLC said in a statement.

The company is also evacuating about 2,000 Germany holidaymakers following a travel warning from the German foreign minister.

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