Tunisian town stages general strike amid protests

By Bassam Bin Daou

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Local residents in Tunisia’s southern town of Agareb staged a general strike on Wednesday to protest violence by security forces.

Shops and state institutions closed as part of the strike, called by the Tunisian General Labor Union, the country’s largest labor organization, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.

The move came following the death of a protester in the city on Monday. While his family said the protester died from a gas canister fired by security forces during overnight protests, the interior ministry denied the claim.

The protests in Agareb in Sfax province were initially sparked by the authorities’ reopening of a landfill site that was closed in late September due to complaints filed by locals that it polluted the environment.

Tunisia has been in the grip of a deep political crisis since President Kais Saied ousted the government, suspended parliament, and assumed executive authority on July 25.

The developments in Agareb pose a serious challenge to the recently unveiled new Cabinet headed by Najla Bouden, who was appointed by Saied as the country’s first female prime minister.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat