Violent protests broke out on Saturday night in at least six Tunisian cities, including the capital Tunis and the coastal city of Sousse over economic hardship.
Witnesses and local media stated that fierce night clashes broke out between police and hundreds of protestors, which made the security forces fire tear gas to disperse the angry protesters who blocked roads and burned tires.
Security sources said that young men in Sousse broke into shops, as clashed took place in the city Kalaa Kebira near Sousse.
The protests also took place in several areas of the capital, including Ettadamen, Mallassin and Fouchana, Sijoumi, Kef, Bizerte and Siliana, in the north of the country.
This came as Tunisia marks the tenth anniversary of the revolution that toppled the late President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.
A decade after the revolution against severe unemployment, extreme poverty, corruption and injustice, Tunisia made a smooth road towards democracy.
However, the country’s economic situation worsened, with poor public services, as it became on the verge of bankruptcy.
The protests pose a challenge for the government of Prime Minister Hisham Al-Mechishi, who reshuffled the cabinet, with new ministers including the Ministry of Interior and Justice and Energy.
The main reason for this shuffle was executing the government’s upcoming plan after finishing a comprehensive evaluation process
Last week, Al-Mechishi sacked Minister of Interior Tawfiq Sharaf Al-Din; however, informed sources from the Tunisian presidency reported that Tunisia’s President Kais Saied rejected the decision to fire al-Din.
The decision, made by the Tunisian Premier, makes the political conflict in the country take an upward turn between the two heads of the executive authority in the coming days (the presidency and the premiership).
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