Fear of terrorist attack leads Department of Foreign Affairs to discourage all non-essential travel to Tunisia

The Department of Foreign Affairs is advising Irish tourists against all essential travel to Tunisia, amid warnings another terrorist attack is highly likely.

The Department have issued the second-highest warning category in their five-point scale for travel advice.

In a statement, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said that they are encouraging any Irish visitors to Tunisia to review whether their presence there is essential, and if it is not, to leave the country.

However he says the department believes there are relatively few Irish visitors currently in Tunisia, after the decision by travel companies to discontinue direct flights from Dublin to Monastir earlier this month.

The terrorist attack at Sousse claimed 38 victims, including three Irish citizens.

The warning comes almost two weeks after the attack, as concerns mount that another attack could be imminent.

Yesterday, the UK urged all British Citizens in Tunisia to leave as soon as possible and two tour operators have decided to pull their staff from the country.

The country relies heavily on tourism, and the damage that the attack will likely cause the economy may arguably provide fertile ground for cultivating further Islamic extremism, as an increasingly disaffected, disenfranchised youth becomes frustrated.

The country's porous borders with Algeria have raised some local concerns about Islamic extremist influence in the popular tourist destination.