Students reignite Tunisian protest after brief lull

[Joanne98]

Source: Reuters

TUNIS Jan 4 (Reuters) - Tunisian police used tear gas to disperse a protest by hundreds of students on Tuesday in a town in the west of the country, witnesses said, as violent protests resumed after a brief lull.

"Hundreds of students took to the street this morning in solidarity with the youths of Sidi Bouzid. Jobless soon joined the protests which turned into clashes with the police who used tear gas to disperse the protesters," eyewitness Belgacem Saihi said from the town of Thala where the protest took place.

Tunisian officials could not immediately comment on the accounts by Saihi, confirmed by Jamal Boulabi, who heads teachers union in Thala.

Clashes started last month in the central town of Sidi Bouzid after a man in his twenties attempted suicide by setting himself on fire in front of a government building to protest against the confiscation by the police of his fruit and vegetable cart.



Read more: http://af.reuters.com/article/tunisiaNews/idAFLDE70314D20110104