What's behind the riots in Tunisia?

Tunisia riots

A member of Tunisian security forces keeps watch as protesters block a street in the Ettadhamen city suburb on the northwestern outskirts of Tunis on January 18, 2021.

Photo credit: Fethi Belaid | AFP

Tunisia has seen a new wave of street clashes since the North African country marked the 10th anniversary of its revolution last week.

More than 600 mostly young people have been arrested in the rioting, mostly in poor neighbourhoods, with minors as young as 15 among the detainees.

Authorities have deployed the army to restore calm.

What triggered the riots?

Tunisia has seen growing tensions in recent months due to the country's deep social and economic crises.

A stagnating economy and sky-high unemployment -- as much as a third among the youth -- have been worsened by the coronavirus pandemic.

A tight four-day lockdown went into effect on Thursday, aimed at curbing the North African country's spiralling Covid-19 caseload. 

An 8pm curfew already in place was brought forward to 4:00 pm, and police were deployed to enforce the measures -- further ratcheting up the tension.

"You can't just lock up young people, some of whom usually go home only to sleep," said analyst Selim Kharrat.

For three consecutive nights from Friday, young people have burned tyres and battled police, exchanging rocks and Molotov cocktails for volleys of teargas.

Tunisia often sees protests in January, which coincides with several key anniversaries including longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's fall from power which this year fell on Thursday. 

But all such gatherings are currently banned.

Who are the protesters, and what do they want?

Journalists covering the rioting have seen young men, including minors, wage running battles with police forces.

Political slogans and demands have been absent. The authorities, like some residents, blame "trouble-makers", pointing out to the looting of shops.

"There's a desire to confront symbols of the authorities," said Kharrat. 

"In these marginalised neighbourhoods, that basically means the Post Office and the police."

The clashes follow demonstrations and sit-ins throughout the summer in long-neglected interior regions. 

Many Tunisians are outraged at a political class seen as obsessed with power struggles and disconnected from the suffering of the country's poor, whose conditions have worsened after last year's economic downturn.

"It's a miracle there aren't more demonstrations," said historian Pierre Vermeren.

Tunisia's economy shrunk by seven percent in 2020, leaving an already heavily indebted country few tools for tackling its multiple crises.

"Tourism, which employs about a quarter of the population, has almost vanished," Vermeren said. 

Unlike during the first three months of last year's lockdown, when the government gave one-off handouts worth 140 euros (about $165) to the poorest families, today there is no such support.

Some 100,000 Tunisians drop out of school each year, and the pandemic has meant that many now only have classes every other day. 

The dire situation has pushed many to leave the country. Tunisians made up the largest number of irregular migrants (more than 12,000) arriving in Italy last year on boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

What has the reaction been?The authorities' only response so far has been to deploy more security forces, but this risks aggravating an already tense situation. 

There have been growing calls for daytime demonstrations.

The powerful UGTT union has lambasted official "silence" but also called for an end to the night-time disturbances.

President Kais Saied on Monday visited his home district of Mnihla, where he urged young Tunisians to refrain from violence or from damaging private property, the presidency said.

Parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, head of Islamist movement Ennahdha, posted a simple but non-committal message on Facebook: "God protect Tunisia."

Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, the ninth premier since Tunisia's 2011 revolution, has not commented. 

He has his own crises to deal with -- his cabinet, which saw a major reshuffle on Saturday, has yet to be approved by a divided parliament.

"The political class, as well as being divided, is facing unprecedented economic distress," said Vermenren.

That includes heavy cuts to state subsidies on essential goods as part of the conditions for International Monetary Fund loans -- measures Vermenren says are "unsustainable".

Some officials have accused unnamed "groups" for stirring up trouble to destabilise Tunisia.

But Kharrat dismissed such talk, suggesting that politicians were struggling to tackle the root causes of the violence.

"Conspiracy theories are more comfortable," he said.