Hollande marches in solidarity with Tunisia after museum attack

President Francois Hollande has joined tens of thousands of Tunisians and other world leaders in a show of solidarity against Islamic militants. The Sunday rally in the capital Tunis was held a day after security forces killed nine members of a group blamed in this month’s deadly museum attack.

President Francois Hollande joins world leaders in a solidarity march in the Tunisian capital Reuters

The Tunisian government called on all major political parties to join the rally, which was in the same vein as Paris’ solidarity march following January’s terrorist attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.

Hollande was among a number of world leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who marched under the slogan "Le Monde est Bardo", after the National Bardo Museum where the attack took place. Twenty-one tourists, mostly foreign, and a police officer were killed.

“France wanted to stand alongside the people of Tunisia, which was the birthplace of the Arab Spring and which is the victim – along with nationals from several other countries – of a hateful terrorist act,” he said in Tunis. “I cannot forget what happened on the 11th of January. There was a march in Tunisia to express solidarity with France and our values. So today the march is for Tunisia and for the values the country embodies in the Arab world and beyond.”

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the March 18 killings in Tunis. The interior ministry says suspects were killed Saturday in clashes with security forces in the southwest region of Sidi Aich, near the Algerian border.