2 missing Tunisian journalists executed by Daesh

A suspected militant held in eastern Libya has told a local television channel that two Tunisian journalists, who went missing in 2014, have been killed by Daesh.

Daesh had previously claimed in January 2015 to have executed blogger Sofiene Chourabi and photographer Nadhir Ktari but the claims when contested when the Tunisian authorities stated they had evidence that the pair were still alive.

The imprisoned militant, identified as Libyan Abderrazek Nassef Abderrazek Ali, told the Libyan channel LibyaAl-Hadath that he had witnessed the pair being executed in a forest outside the eastern town of Derna, under Daesh control.

The two journalists had been captured at a Daesh roadblock between the towns of Ajdabiya and Labraq and then taken hostage to Derna.

Ali confirmed that a Daesh court had ordered them killed based on testimonies from Tunisian militants.

Around 3,000 Tunisians have joined Daesh’s ranks fighting in Libya, as well as in Syria and Iraq, according to Tunisian officials, however according to the United Nations the figure could be as high as 5,000.

According to Libya Al-Hadath, affiliated with the country’s Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, the suspect, who was shown shaven-headed and wearing an orange jumpsuit, is being held by Haftar’s forces.

Relatives of the two journalists have been involved in a long campaign for information on their fate from the Tunisian government.

Protests against returning militants took place yesterday in the country’s capital Tunis. Around a 1,000 Tunisians protested against the return of the militants for fear of an escalation in violence in the country.