Tunis - Tunisian security forces firing
teargas clashed with protesters on Monday after they burned down
two police stations following the death of a young man hit by a
police vehicle during protests over jobs in the south.
Unrest in Tataouine province have escalated into violence
after protesters targeted oil and gas facilities to block
production to pressure Prime Minister Youssef Chahed's
government for work and development in the marginalised region.
"One young man died in the Tataouine protests. He was hit
by a police car in the protest," a Health Ministry source said.
State-run Tataouine Radio said youths had burned out two
local police stations during the clashes and police had
withdrawn from the town. Images from the town showed burned out
vehicles in the street and charred walls of police offices.
Protesters earlier briefly forced the closure of the Vana
pumping station in Tataouine, one of several oil and gas
facilities affected over the weekend, after the army allowed an
engineer to shut it to avoid a confrontation.
The Defence Ministry said on Sunday it would use force to
protect and retake southern oil and gas facilities, and clashes
broke out at Vana on Monday when the military took back control
to restart the pump, two witnesses said.
"The Defence Ministry warns citizens of the risk of
prosecution following altercations with military units, and
bodily harm resulting from aggression or violations accessing
facilities under their control," it late on Sunday.
Protesters pressing demands for jobs and a share of the
country's energy wealth forced the closure of two oil and gas
pumping stations, where Italy's ENI SpA, Austria's OMV
AG and France's Perenco operate, and where Prime
Minister Youssef Chahed had already deployed troops.
Tunisia is a small oil producer with an output of about
44,000 barrels per day.
But the closures represent a clear challenge to the
authority of Chahed's government as it tries to enact economic
reforms demanded by international lenders and consolidate
Tunisia's transition to democracy six years after an uprising
ended the autocratic rule of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
Southern and central regions have erupted into rioting and
protest several times since the 2011 revolt with many unemployed
youths complaining the fall of Ben Ali and transition to
democracy bought little economic opportunities for them.