Unrest over price hikes hits Tunisia
Protests hit several parts of Tunisia where dozens of people were arrested and one man died in unclear circumstances amid anger over rising prices, authorities said Tuesday.
Several buildings were damaged during overnight scuffles with police, the Interior Ministry said, after activists and political parties denounced new austerity measures expected to increase the cost of living, AFP wrote.
The Interior Ministry denied the 43-year-old man in the town of Tebourba, west of Tunis, had been killed by police, saying the man’s body showed no sign of any violence. Spokesman Khalifa Chibani said the man suffered from “respiratory problems”.
Across the country, 11 officers were wounded including after being hit by stones and Molotov cocktails, while four police vehicles were damaged, said National Security Chief Walid Ben Hkima. He denounced “acts of violence and ransacking”. In the central impoverished city of Kasserine, dozens of youths set tires ablaze and threw stones at members of the security forces, who retaliated with tear gas.
In the central town of Sidi Bouzid, epicenter of the 2011 uprising that unseated dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, rocks and tires blocked the roads.
On Monday, Tunisians held a peaceful protest in the town against price hikes following austerity measures including increased valueadded taxes and social security contributions.
The ministry’s spokesman said at least 44 people had been arrested, including 16 in Kasserine and 18 in working-class areas near Tunis. The unrest “had nothing to do with democracy or social demands,” Khalifa Chibani said.
A car pound in Kasserine was ransacked, he said, and buildings of the security forces were damaged in the southern town of Hamma.
Protests are common in the North African country in the month of January, when Tunisians mark the anniversary of the 2011 revolt that led to Ben Ali’s ouster.
Tensions have been running high for seven years since the uprising, including over the new austerity measures implemented on January 1. On Sunday, Tunisian police dispersed a protest in the capital against the price hikes.
In December, unemployed protesters and activists marched through the streets of Sidi Bouzid, angry over the lack of jobs and opportunities that continue to plague the central town.
On December 17, 2010, street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in Sidi Bouzid, in a deadly protest over unemployment and police harassment that spiraled into Ben Ali’s overthrow.