Sidi Bouzid Riots : Day 8

The riots that erupted in the Governorate of Sidi Bouzid on December 17th, following the self-immolation of a young unemployed graduate continue. On December 24th, violence between protesters and security forces took a preoccupying turn. In Menzel Bouzayan , one protester was killed by live ammunition and about 10 persons were severely injured during the clashes.
A massive march took place in the streets of the town of Menzel Bouzayan. According to some witnesses’ declarations, it gathered thousands of demonstrators belonging to different social strata.
The police violently oppressed the demonstration by the disproportionate use of tear gas and live ammunition, thus killing the young Mohamed Al Amari, an unemployed graduate. This death fueled the demonstrators’ anger. They threw stones at the security forces and set fire in three cars of the National Guard whose officers were throwing tear gas and fired live ammunition.
According to trade unionist sources, some demonstrators set fire in the headquarters of the National Guard as well as in those of the RCD ( ruling party).We knew that authorities sent large security reinforcements to the town of Menzel Bouzayan, where columns of smoke were arising from all sides. According to medical sources, more than thirty wounded persons were admitted to the hospitals of Sned and Houssine-Bouzayan in Gafsa.
A similar number of injured persons were transported to the hospitals of the city of Sfax. According to our sources, two young men Mohamed Lamine (19) and Rami Ouled Nasr (20) are in a very critical condition at Habib Bourguiba hospital in Sfax. The police surrounded the hospital to prevent visits.
On the evening of Friday, the police, with the help of a number of militia belonging to the RCD party made sweeps. They searched the houses with the help of police dogs and arrested dozens of young men accused of the participation in the demonstrations.
On the other hand, shops were looted and destroyed by the police and the militia. In the city of Meknassi, Professor Issam Elghabri was been kidnapped. He was severely tortured by the security forces and thrown in a ditch outside the city. The Regional Labor Union of Meknassi organized a sit-in, followed by a march through the streets of the city. The march was oppressed by security forces using tear gas. According to eyewitnesses, security forces waged a campaign of raids and arrests in the besieged city.
A curfew was imposed from 8pm. In Bizerte also many people gathered in front of the Regional Labor Union in reaction to the events in Sidi Bouzid. They shouted slogans of solidarity with the people of Sidi Bouzid. They also they also filed a petition to the Executive Office of the General Labor Union and demanded the formation of regional commission to activate and strengthen solidarity with Sidi Bouzid.
Finally, since Friday, trade union rallies are taking place following the calls of the Regional Labor Union of Sfax, Sousse and Kairouan. Other people gathered in Mohamed Ali Place, outside the premises of the UGTT in Tunis to express their solidarity with Sidi Bouzid inhabitants.
As to the Ministry of Interior and Local development, it blamed and held, in a notice published by the Tunis Africa Press Agency (TAP), the protestors responsible for the bloody events taking place in Menzel Bouzayan. It stated: “The National Guard officers tried to dissuade them by warning them orally and by conducting fire warning shots. Nevertheless, these groups continued their attempts to enter the National Guard premises by throwing Molotov cocktails, which led some officers of the National Guard to the use of weapons to defend themselves. This incident resulted in one death and two injured among the assailants. Several officers suffered scalds. Two of them are in coma”.