KASSARINE, TUNISIA // Tunisia imposed a nationwide overnight curfew Friday as growing unrest over unemployment sparked protests and vandalism in several cities.
The curfew from 8pm until 5am would begin Friday because the attacks on public and private property “represent a danger to the country and its citizens,” the interior ministry said.
The previous night, police stations came under attack and security officers used tear gas to repel protesters armed with stones and Molotov cocktails.
In housing projects on the outskirts of the capital of Tunis, roving groups of young people pillaged a bank and looted stores and warehouses.
Tunisia’s prime minister Habib Essid was cutting short a visit to France to deal with the protests, which were triggered last Sunday when a young man who lost out on a government job climbed a transmission tower in protest and was electrocuted.
Tunisia’s unemployment stands around 15 per cent, but is 30 per cent among young people.
“Are we not Tunisians too? It’s been four years I’ve been struggling. We’re not asking for much, but we’re fighting for our youth. We struggled so much for them,” said Leila Omri, the mother of an unemployed graduate in Kesserine.
* Associated Press