Tunisians ride a scooter in front of burning tires used as a roadblock by demonstrators demanding jobs in the central city of Kasserine on January 20, 2016/AFP
The demonstrators had gathered outside the local government offices demanding a solution to the region’s dire unemployment before heading towards the town centre, as small groups set up roadblocks with burning tyres.
Witnesses said police used tear gas and water cannon and fired warning shots in the air as they came under attack from stone-throwers.
Regional health authority chief Abdelghani Chaabani said eight police were injured in Kasserine as well as another 11 in nearby Thala, a day after clashes on Tuesday in which 20 protesters and three police were lightly hurt.
It comes only days after the fifth anniversary of the revolution sparked by the death of a young university graduate who set himself on fire to protest police harassment and unemployment in the nearby town of Sidi Bouzid.
Wednesday’s clashes in Kasserine took place despite a nighttime curfew imposed only the day before in the town of around 80,000 inhabitants.
Tensions have run high in Kasserine since Saturday, when an unemployed man, Ridha Yahyaoui, 28, climbed atop a power pole near the governor’s office and was electrocuted.
He was protesting after his name was removed from a list of hires for public sector jobs.
A provincial official has been sacked following Yahyaoui’s death.
Late on Wednesday, government spokesman Khaled Chouket announced a series of measures for Kasserine, including the creation of 5,000 new jobs and allocation of 135 million dinars (60 million euros) to build 1,000 social homes.
– ‘Sliding into reverse’ –
Tunisia, which has been plagued by high unemployment and poverty, has struggled to revive its economy since the 2011 revolution that toppled veteran president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
President Beji Caid Essebsi Wednesday acknowledged “the current government inherited a very difficult situation” with “700,000 unemployed and 250,000 of them young people who have degrees.”
“But (…) we cannot deal with situations like this by statements or a helping hand. You have to give it time,” he said.
Unemployment now stands at more than 15 percent and 32 percent among holders of university degrees, and Kasserine is one of the poorest regions of the North African country.
Several rallies were held in other towns to support Kasserine and demand jobs and development.
Protestors stormed the sub-prefecture in the central town of Regueb while the facade of a customs guard post in El Hidra, Kasserine governorate, was burned and a security forces vehicle torched, interior ministry spokesman Walid Louguini told AFP.
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