Tunisians protest planned visit of Saudi crown prince

By Yosra Ouanes

TUNIS (AA) – Hundreds of Tunisians demonstrated in the capital on Tuesday against a planned visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

As part of his first overseas tour since the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, bin Salman is expected to arrive in Tunisia Tuesday evening coming from Egypt.

Though the Saudi Royal Court did not name other countries that the crown prince is due to visit, he is also expected to visit Algeria and Mauritania.

Bin Salman had already visited the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as part of his tour.

Hundreds of demonstrators swarmed the central Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis.

Protesters held banners reading slogans including "Tunisia is not for sale", "the people want to expel bin Salman" and others against alleged normalization with Israel. Flags of Tunisia, Algeria Mauritania, Egypt and Palestine were raised during the protest.

While Saudi Arabia has blamed the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi on a rogue hit squad, weeks of shifting explanations aroused suspicions. A CIA assessment earlier this month implicated bin Salman in the slaying.

After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration admitted weeks later that he was killed there.

Tunisia was the birthplace of the "Arab Spring" uprisings that swept the Middle East and North Africa in early 2011 which overthrew the regime of authoritarian ruler Zein Al Abidine Ben Ali.

After fleeing Tunisia amid heightened protests against his rule, Ben Ali went to Saudi Arabia, where he currently resides.