Hundreds Arrested as Protests Sweep Tunisia Decade After Arab Spring

HUNDREDS of people have been arrested as anti-government protests sweep Tunisia, leading to violent clashes with police.

Ten years after the North African country kicked off the Arab Spring, protesters have returned to the streets of Tunisia leading to violent confrontations with police.

Authorities say that over 600 people have been arrested during violent street battles that saw police pelted with bricks and petrol bombs and tear gas fired at crowds. Two officers were reported wounded in the clashes.

Reports say that the recent wave of protests is led by disenfranchised young people in the poor neighbourhoods of the capital Tunis and other major cities. One-third of Tunisian youths are unemployed, as the country’s long-term economic crisis spirals even deeper due to the pandemic. The government has condemned protesters who resorted to violence.

“This has nothing to do with protest movements that are guaranteed by the law and the constitution,” said an Interior Ministry spokesperson, “Protests take place in broad daylight… without any criminal acts involved.”

Ten years ago, Tunisia became the first country to take down its government in the Arab Spring that spread to its North African neighbours of Egypt and Libya.

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