Tunisia: Youths clash with police over economic woes

Tunis and at least five other Tunisian cities saw violent demonstrations linked to the 10-year anniversary of the Jasmine Revolution that ousted the country's longtime ruler.

Tunisian security forces arrested dozens of young people during consecutive nights of disturbances in several cities, a government spokesman said Sunday.

The protests took place as Tunisia marks the 10th anniversary of the revolution that toppled the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.

Where did the clashes take place?

Violent protests took place in several areas of the capital, Tunis, and the seaside city of Sousse, among others.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Hayouni told the AFP news agency that dozens of young people, mostly aged between 14 and 17, were held after they took to the streets. He accused them of intending to loot and vandalize shopfronts and cars overnight.

AgenceTAP put the number arrested at 242, citing a spokesman for the National Security Directorate.

Witnesses in Sousse said security forces fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of angry protesters who blocked roads and burned tires.

There were also night protests and riots in the north of the country.

Tunisia is set to exit a fourday lockdown amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases. The country has been under a nighttime curfew since October.

What's driving the protests?

A decade after the Jasmine Revolution, Tunisia has made a smooth transition towards democracy, but its economy remains on the verge of bankruptcy.

Tunisia's GDP shrank by 9% last year, consumer prices have spiraled and one-third of young people are unemployed.

The key tourism sector, already on its knees after a string

Tunisian cities have been hit by violent protests as the North African countries edges towards bankruptcy

Youths clashed with police in several cities during protests over living conditions and high unemployment