Tunisian security disperses protests in restive south

By Haitham al-Mahdi

TATAOUINE, Tunisia (AA) - Police on Monday used teargas to disperse protesters who tried to enter the oil-producing Kamour area of Tunisia’s southern Tataouine province amid ongoing clashes between demonstrators and security forces.

On Monday morning, hundreds of protesters -- demanding more job opportunities and stepped-up local development -- tried to force their way into Kamour with a view to halting oil production, local eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency.

One day earlier, security reinforcements from the Interior Ministry’s National Guard Corps were deployed in Kamour in large numbers after protesters managed to enter the area on Saturday and briefly halt production.

Tunisia’s southern Tataouine province is currently witnessing a general strike, which has paralyzed activity at most local government and private institutions.

Confrontations remain ongoing between security forces and protesters near the local government’s provincial headquarters.

Security forces on Monday used teargas to disperse protesters, a number of whom were injured in the melee.

Recent weeks have seen hundreds of young Tunisians stage sit-in protests near the country’s southern oilfields to demand more employment opportunities and stepped-up development of the oil-rich southern region.

Earlier this month, President Beji Caid Essebsi ordered the army to take steps to protect the country’s phosphate mines and oilfields from protest groups, which, he warned, could disrupt production.