Tunisia declared a state of emergency Saturday, eight days after a gunman slaughtered dozens of foreign tourists at a Mediterranean beach resort.
The move, which gives the government stepped-up powers to deal with suspected terrorists but also curtails to a degree the rights of ordinary citizens, marks an unhappy juncture in what had perhaps been the only real success story to emerge from the 2011 uprisings that were collectively dubbed the Arab Spring.
Tunisia, whose revolt against a longtime dictator set in motion similar pro-democracy movements across North Africa and the Middle East, had been making steady strides in its transition to democracy.