People protested in the Tunisian capital on Sunday, urging the government to resign and the legislature to be dissolved as the country struggles with economic difficulties exacerbated by a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.
Although security forces blocked roads to the parliament building in central Tunis, hundreds of protesters were able to converge on streets near the assembly, witnesses said.
The protests come amid a deepening political crisis that pits Tunisian President Kais Saied against the government and parliament.
Tunisia has experienced an economic downturn due to general unrest and attacks from militant insurgency since the uprising that inspired the Arab Spring revolts of 2010-11.
Protesters shouted “the people want the downfall of the regime”, a slogan reminiscent of the Tunisian uprising that overthrew the longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.
Other protesters shouted slogans against the Ennahda movement, Tunisia’s largest political party. Ennahada leader Rached Ghannouchi is the head of parliament.
Competitions also broke out between protesters and police in Tunis. No deaths were reported.
Similar protests took place in other parts of the North African country, local witnesses said.
Online images showed protesters storming an office in Ennahda in Tunisia’s southwestern city of Tozeur. Others were seen removing a poster with the party’s name from their premises in the coastal town of Sousse.
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