Clashes broke out on Friday between police and protesters in a Tunis district, following the death of a young man injured during a manhunt last August, according to media reports.
A group of youths threw stones at security forces after the victim’s funeral at noon in the popular neighborhood of Al Omrane Supérieur, on the outskirts of Tunis.
Tear gas and rubber bullets
In the evening, fresh clashes broke out in the nearby Ettadhmen district, with security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters, witnesses said.
The protesters overturned garbage containers and set others on fire, according to a correspondent on the spot.
The young man, Malek Slimi, 24, died this Thursday, fifty days after his admission to intensive care. “He was injured in the neck when he fell into a ditch after being chased by the police,” a relative told local radio.
His family has called for an investigation to be opened into the circumstances of his death. The Tunisian police are regularly criticized for their excessive use of force.
14 young people murdered in recent years
Fourteen young people have died in recent years after clashes with the police, according to the Tunisian League for Human Rights, which denounces the “impunity” of the police.
In addition, NGOs and the opposition accuse the Tunisian security services of resorting to methods reminiscent of those of the police state under the former dictatorship of Zine el Abidine ben Ali, since President Kais Saied assumed all powers in July 2021. .
President Saied’s coup has shaken the young democracy in Tunisia, the country from which the Arab Spring riots began in 2011.
Source: BFM TV
