Tunisia arrests dozens as protests break out for second night

Tunisian authorities say they arrested no less than 240 youths as violent clashes between police and protesters broke out.

Riots and violent clashes between Tunisian police and protesters broke out on Sunday within the capital Tunis and a number of other different cities for the second consecutive day, whereas safety forces arrested dozens of younger individuals.

The disturbances got here because the nation confronted an unprecedented financial disaster and a nationwide lockdown imposed since Thursday as a part of efforts to rein in surging coronavirus infections.

Inner Safety Forces spokesman Walid Hkima stated riot police had arrested 242 individuals, largely youngsters and youngsters who vandalised property and tried to rob outlets and banks in a single day and through the day on Sunday in a number of cities.

A decade on from a revolution towards poverty, corruption and injustice, Tunisia has progressed in the direction of democracy however its financial issues have worsened, with the nation on the verge of chapter and public providers in a dire scenario.

Gross home product (GDP) shrank by 9 p.c final yr, shopper costs have spiralled upwards and one-third of younger persons are unemployed.

The important thing tourism sector, already on its knees after a string of lethal armed group assaults in 2015, has been dealt a devastating blow by the pandemic.

Tunisia has registered greater than 177,000 coronavirus circumstances, together with greater than 5,600 deaths from the illness.

The protesters made no clear calls for in demonstrations – which authorities described as riots – in no less than 10 cities across the nation.

Within the run-down Ettadamen space of the capital, protesters – most of them youngsters – blocked roads and threw stones at police. Police fired water cannon and tear gasoline to disperse them on Sunday.

Clashes additionally unfold to the Mnihla space of Tunis.

The protests pose a problem for the federal government of Hicham Mechichi, who has reshuffled his cupboard amid a seamless battle for political affect.

Rural central and southern areas of the nation stay flashpoints for rioting.

Witnesses advised the Reuters information company that protests had been held on Sunday within the central cities of Sbeitla and Kasserine, the place police chased the protesters and fired tear gasoline.

In Jelma city within the governor of Sidi Bouzid, police dispersed youths who blocked roads and burned tyres to protest towards their marginalisation and poverty.

Different protests had been held within the cities of Ras Djbel, Ksar Hlel and Beja.