Newsletters
Clashes erupted Saturday for a second consecutive night between Tunisian police and angry youths in the central city of Kairouan following the death of a man after a police chase and alleged violence against him, eyewitnesses told Reuters.
Witnesses said protesters pelted security forces with stones, Molotov cocktails and flares and blocked roads by setting tires ablaze, prompting police to disperse them using tear gas.
According to the deceased man’s relatives, he was riding a motorcycle without a license several days ago when he was chased by a police vehicle.
They said he was beaten and taken to a hospital, from which he was later discharged, before subsequently dying from a head hemorrhage.
It was not immediately possible to obtain an official comment from the authorities regarding the incident.
In an effort to contain the tension, local and media sources said the governor of Kairouan visited the home of the deceased man’s family on Saturday and pledged to open an investigation to determine the circumstances of the death and assign responsibility.
The incident is not the first of its kind. In recent months, the city of Gabes witnessed protests calling for environmental reforms, during which young artist Moez Ben Brika was run over by a security vehicle, resulting in a severe concussion and fractures to his upper and lower limbs, according to journalists and local organizations.
In a related development, reports by human rights organizations have pointed to a rise in suspicious deaths in Tunisian prisons, with dozens recorded over the past few years.
The most recent case involved the death of Akram Al-Jammaoui inside Mornaguia Prison in the capital, with his family confirming that he was subjected to torture, claims documented in a forensic report during his detention and imprisonment.
Local pages and websites on social media published video clips documenting heightened tensions in several neighborhoods of the city, while other pages circulated an image of the young man who died.
The protests have raised concerns among authorities that they could spread to other areas, as the country prepares to mark the anniversary of the 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.
Tunisia has recently witnessed a rise in political and social tensions amid a wave of protests and strikes across several sectors, alongside a call by the Tunisian General Labour Union, the country’s largest trade union, for a nationwide strike next month.
3 min read
