Riot Police Engage Youths as Street Disturbances Rock Tunisia

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Tunisian protesters confront security forces in a street in the Ettadhamen city suburb on the northwestern outskirts of Tunis on January 18, 2021, amidst a wave of nightly protests in the North African country.

Fethi Belaid | AFP

Tunis

Street clashes between riot police and youths rocked Tunisia for the fourth night in mostly working class neighbourhoods, with calls on social media for more rallies on Tuesday.

More than 600 people had been arrested by Monday over the disturbances in which teenagers and adolescents have hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at police who have fired volleys of tear gas at them.

The social unrest comes at a time of economic crisis, worsened by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism-reliant North African country, which has deepened poverty and driven up inflation and unemployment.

In the latest unrest until the early hours of Tuesday, hundreds of youths in the capital battled police in several districts including the vast Ettadhamen city on the outskirts of Tunis.

In Sfax, the second largest city, protesters blockaded roads with burning tyres, an AFP correspondent reported.