Tunisian Police Fire Tear Gas to Disperse Unemployed Protesters
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Tunisian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of angry protesters demanding jobs in the central city of Kasserine, two days after a young unemployed man committed suicide, local residents said.
Clashes between protesters demanding jobs and Tunisian police escalated in the city of Kasserine, the capital of the province, on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reports.
At least 23 people were injured in the clashes, including three security forces. The injuries mostly resulted from the use of teargas.
A curfew from 6pm to 5am local time has been imposed in the city.
Ridha Yahyaoui, a young job-seeker, committed suicide in Kasserine on Sunday after he found out his name was taken from a government pool of potential public employees.
Yahyaoui climbed a utility pole where he threatened to self-immolate. Yahyaoui then came in contact with the cables the pole was carrying and was electrocuted.
The government ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Yahyaoui's death.
The city of Kasserine lies near the Algerian border, in the shadow of Jebel ech Chambi, Tunisia's highest peak.
According to the World Bank, Tunisia's unemployment rate is at 15.3 percent, only a little under the country's unemployment rate post-2011 revolution of 16.7 percent, but still well above the pre-revolution level of 13 percent.
A delegation of members of parliament will visit Kasserine to monitor the latest developments in the region that has experienced social tension for some days.
Tunisia five years on
In January 2011, Mohamed Bouazizi, a twenty-six-year-old street vendor, marched to the front of a government building and set himself on fire after after police allegedly slapped him because he refused to hand over his unauthorized cart to the authorities.
News of this act of desperation spread across Sidi Bouzid, leading to anger and protest.
Within days, protests erupted across the country with Tunisians chanting slogans and demanding a solution to the vast unemployment and the dire economic state of the country.
Tunisian ex-president President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali officially resigned after 28 days of protests on January 14, 2011, putting an end to his 23-year-long rule.
Unemployment, inflated food prices, corruption, lack of political freedom and poor living conditions were the underlying reasons for the demonstrations.
