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Tunisia to designate protest hotspots as military zones

June 29, 2017 at 2:02 pm

Tunisian forces, 29 June 2017 [Armed Forces of Muslim World/Facebook]

The Tunisian presidency has adopted a plan to designate protest hotspots in the country as military zones.

The presidential announcement comes after a meeting of the National Security Council to consider the draft presidential order that was introduced by President Beji Caid Essebsi last month.

Essebsi’s decision at the time was to place the turbulent areas under the command of the army following sit-ins and protests in the south in the tribal states of Tataouine and in the areas near oil production sites in the desert.

“The sit-ins have cost the country huge financial losses and a shortage of oil production,” the government said.

Read: Tunisia’s ‘parallel economy’ costs the country $2 billion annually

“The draft presidential order submitted by the Ministry of National Defence concerning the announcement of production sites and sensitive and vital installations being considered military and quarried areas and it has been agreed to adopt it,” a presidential statement confirmed.

There have been frequent protests in the phosphate-producing mineral basin areas of Gafsa and in oil production areas in the south. The sit-ins were set up for around three months in Al-Kamour to demand jobs in oil companies and development in Tataouine. The protests reached a peak on 22 May when a protester was killed and dozens injured by security personnel.

The government recently announced a comprehensive deal with the protesters through a package of employment-related decisions signed on 16 June following mediation by the Tunisian General Labour Union.