Tunisia: authorities arrest six protesters

The Tunisian authorities announced on Sunday that they had arrested six people on charges of attacking private and public property during clashes between security forces and protesters west of the capital, Tunis, Anadolu has reported. Security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the protesters, who in turn responded by throwing stones, glass bottles, Molotov cocktails and fireworks.

The spokesman for the General Administration of the National Guard, Hossam Eddine Jababli, said that the security forces “countered attacks against private and public properties the past two nights [Friday and Saturday] in the Tadamon neighbourhood and six people were arrested.” Jababli added that Molotov cocktails were seized, and an unusable private car was burned. “Two members of the National Guard units were injured.”

On Saturday evening, Tunis witnessed violent confrontations for the second night between security forces and hundreds of protesters who gathered for the funeral of a young man. He died of neck and back injuries after being transferred to a hospital in the capital three weeks ago. Reports differed about the cause of his death; some say that a security patrol shot him, but others say that he fell while trying to climb a wall to escape the patrol.

The protesters held the security forces responsible for his death. The Ministry of the Interior did not comment.

READ: Tunisian protesters clash with police