Tunisian Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia has told its supporters to stay away from Kairouan, where the hardline Islamist group's annual congress was due to take place Sunday despite a government ban. "To the attention of our brothers who are coming to Kairouan from other regions... the head of Ansar al-Sharia informs you of the need to cancel all these trips given the seriousness of the security situation," the group said on its website, without stating if the congress had been cancelled.