Demonstrating against the reopening of a local landfill site, protesters in Tunisia have clashed with security forces throughout the week.
Since the decision to open a landfill that had been closed in late September over complaints by local residents that it polluted the environment, protests in Sfax province have been underway and have intensified.
Especially after the death of a protester on Monday, a general strike took place on Wednesday. While his family said the protester had suffocated from tear gas fired by security forces during the overnight protests, the Tunisian Interior Ministry has denied this claim.
Pledging to find a solution to the crisis “soon,” President Kais Saied held a meeting with several civil society activists at the Carthage Palace near the capital Tunis on Thursday, as the clashes continued.
Tunisia has been in the grip of a deep political crisis since Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority on July 25.
The developments in the town of Agareb pose a serious challenge to the recently unveiled new cabinet headed by Najla Bouden Romdhane, who was appointed by Saied as the country’s first female prime minister.
