TUNIS: Tunisia said Monday more than 930 people have been arrested since social unrest erupted a week ago, fueled by unemployment, corruption and austerity measures in the 2018 budget.
“A total of 937 people are in custody” after acts of violence, theft or vandalism, interior ministry spokesman Khlifa Chibani told AFP.
On Sunday, the North African country marked the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that gave birth to the Arab Spring.
Chibani said 41 people aged between 13 and 19 were detained on Sunday amid fresh protests.
The authorities say that in a week of clashes, 105 members of the security forces were injured, but no record of the number of protesters injured was available.
One protester died last Monday in circumstances that remain unclear.
The results of an autopsy due to be released last Thursday have not yet been made public.
Minor incidents including youths burning tires were reported overnight Sunday-Monday in two Tunis suburbs, media reports said.
The North African country is seen as having had a relatively smooth democratic transition since the January 14, 2011 toppling of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.
But anger has risen over new austerity measures after a year of rising prices, with protesters on Sunday again chanting the 2011 slogans of “Work, Freedom, Dignity.”
Tunisia’s 2011 revolt was sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit seller in desperation at police harassment and unemployment.
Tunisia says more than 900 arrests in anti-austerity violence
Tunisia says more than 900 arrests in anti-austerity violence
Arab League chief ‘deeply concerned’ over Yemen tensions
- Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit calls for solidarity among Yemen’s supporters, condemns southern separatist’s military operations
LONDON: The head of the Arab League on Tuesday said he is deeply concerned over escalating tensions in Yemen and called for solidarity among countries supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
His comments came after the military coalition that backs Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council carried out a “limited airstrike” targeting weapons and military vehicles it said were destined for southern separatist forces.
The shipments arrived in the Yemeni port of Mukalla on board two vessels from Fujairah in the UAE.
Saudi Arabia, a key member of the military coalition, criticized the UAE over its support for the separatists, known as the Southern Transitional Council.
The Kingdom said that any threat to its national security was a red line and that the UAE should follow the Yemeni government’s request to remove its forces from the country within 24 hours.
The UAE later announced it would withdraw its remaining counter-terrorism units from Yemen.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit expressed deep concern over the “serious and rapidly unfolding developments in Yemen.”
He called for solidarity among all countries supporting the Yemeni government and to exercise restraint.
He also condemned any military action aimed at “forcibly entrenching a secessionist reality on the ground, in a manner that threatens Yemen’s territorial unity.”
The STC, which wants a separate state in southern Yemen, seized large areas of territory in Hadramout and Al-Mahara provinces in recent weeks.
The STC is meant to be part of a coalition with the Yemeni government opposed to Houthi militants that control the north of the country.
Aboul Gheit said the southern Yemen issue must be addressed through dialogue.
The measures taken by Saudi Arabia and the military coalition were “vital to ensuring peace, security, and the unity of the Yemeni people under their internationally recognized leadership,” said Muslim World League Secretary-General Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa.
“Supporting illegitimate practices only deepens internal divisions and serves those who do not have Yemen’s best interests at heart,” he said.
