TUNIS: Hundreds of Tunisians marched in the capital on Saturday to protest against police abuses they say are endangering freedoms won in the 2011 revolution that swept away authoritarian rule.
Hundreds of riot police confronted the demonstrators, leading to scuffles. Some protesters threw bottles, while police struck some demonstrators with batons.
There have been near daily protests since the mid-January, the anniversary of Tunisia’s revolution that sparked uprisings across the region in 2011, known as the Arab Spring. Tunisia was the only Arab state to emerge with a democratic system in place.
Amid sporadic clashes, police have arrested more than a thousand people during demonstrations over the past two weeks against financial inequality, the marginalization of poor areas and what protesters say have been heavyhanded police tactics.
A young man died in the central city of Sbeitla last week, which his family blamed on him being hit by a teargas canister.
In Tunis, hundreds joined a protest in the center of the capital with scuffles erupting as police blocked the way to the main Avenue Habib Bourguiba, where the Interior Ministry building is located.
Some protesters threw bottles at police, while about 10 officers used batons to beat them back and stop them accessing the avenue, a Reuters witness said.
“They want to steal the principles won since the revolution,” said Mohammed Smida, a protester who compared Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi to former autocrat Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, whose was ousted in 2011 after almost 25 years in power.
“Today our right to protest is threatened by the new Ben Ali,” Smida said.
Hundreds of Tunisians protest about police abuses
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Hundreds of Tunisians protest about police abuses
- Hundreds of riot police confronted the demonstrators, leading to scuffles
- Some protesters threw bottles, while police struck some demonstrators with batons
Israel detains Al-Aqsa imam as PA warns of escalation during Ramadan
- Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January
- Knesset member Amit Halevi called for Jewish prayers at the site during Ramadan
LONDON: Israeli authorities detained Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abbasi, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from within the mosque’s courtyards as 222 settlers stormed the site on Monday.
The Palestinian Authority warned of an Israeli escalation at the Al-Aqsa compound in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem, ahead of and during the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts this week.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January. This week, they prevented the Jerusalem Endowments Council from preparing for Ramadan by blocking the installation of umbrellas for sun and rain protection, and the setup of temporary clinics, according to Wafa news agency.
The governorate also condemned the visit of Israeli Knesset member Amit Halevi to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, accompanied by Israeli police. It said that Halevi’s incursion was part of a provocative tour with the “Temple Mount Administration,” amid rising Israeli calls to change the reality at Al-Aqsa Mosque and alter the historic status quo.
Halevi advocated continuing what he described as “Jewish prayers” at the site during the month of Ramadan, Wafa added.
The governorate also reported that Israeli forces issued a six-month ban on freed prisoner and Al-Aqsa Mosque guard Fadi Alyan from entering the mosque.
