Tunisia: Protests against Rising Prices, Tax Increases Sweep Streets

Police vehicles stop in front of burning tires set up by protesters during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tunis, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. REUTERS/
Police vehicles stop in front of burning tires set up by protesters during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tunis, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. REUTERS/
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Tunisia: Protests against Rising Prices, Tax Increases Sweep Streets

Police vehicles stop in front of burning tires set up by protesters during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tunis, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. REUTERS/
Police vehicles stop in front of burning tires set up by protesters during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tunis, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. REUTERS/

Tunisia's economy is experiencing difficulties but 2018 will be the last year of hardship, Prime Minister Youssef Chahed promised on Tuesday.

The dashing statement came after a long night of protests against austerity measures hit Tunisian streets.

On Monday, protests erupted in more than 10 towns across Tunisia against price and tax increases imposed by the government to reduce a ballooning deficit and an economic crisis.

"People have to understand that the situation is extraordinary and their country has difficulties but we believe that 2018 will be the last difficult year for the Tunisians," Chahed told reporters in comments broadcast on local radio.

Protests have intensified in response to a reviewed tax policy and price increases guaranteed by the current fiscal law in Tunisia. The wave of protests came a day apart from the city of Tale (Kasserine, central western Tunisia) to nearby Sidi Bouzid.

The Labor Union organized a peaceful march in which slogans were raised calling for the abolition of a number of items included in the Finance Law and a ban on the cost of living.

In recent days, parties have called for peaceful demonstrations against government measures to raise prices to curb the budget deficit.

On Sunday night in the city of Tala, a protest was led by a number of young people and regional residents to block the main road to the city and ignite the rubber wheels.

The protests soon turned into confrontations with security men who fired empty rounds into the air and used tear gas to disperse protesters.

"The protests are due to spiking prices, worsening social and economic conditions, staggering unemployment rates and the lack of the region's share of national development," said organizer Hamza al-Sayhi.

In the same context, Reuters pointed to a gathering of youths in the neighborhood of flowers in the Kasserine and raised anti-government slogans and refused to raise prices and threw stones at the police.



Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israeli Troops Expand 'Security Zone' in Northern Gaza

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory  on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli troops moved into an area of northern Gaza to expand what they call a security zone around the edge of the enclave, the military said on Friday, days after the government announced plans to seize large areas with an operation in the south.

Soldiers carrying out the operation in Shejaia, a suburb east of Gaza City in the north, were letting civilians out via organized routes, the military said in a statement.

Israel issued evacuation warnings in the area on Thursday, and hundreds of residents streamed out, some carrying their belongings as they walked, others on donkey carts and bikes or in vans, reported Reuters.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces killed at least 27 people, including women and children, in an airstrike on a school building in Gaza City where displaced families were sheltering.

The military said the Dar Al-Arqam school building in Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City had been used a command and control center by Hamas militants and accused the fighters of deliberately using civilian infrastructure as bases. Hamas denies that it operates among civilians.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing their homes in recent days in one of the biggest mass exoduses of the war, as Israeli forces have moved to expand the territory under their control.

On the southern edge of Gaza, Israeli troops have been consolidating around the ruins of the city of Rafah.

Israel has not fully explained its long-term aim for the areas it is now seizing as a security zone. Gaza residents say they believe the aim is to permanently depopulate swathes of land, including some of Gaza's last farmland and water infrastructure.

The military said it had killed numerous militants and dismantled infrastructure, including what it said was a Hamas command and control center.

Palestinians say Israel's ultimate aim is to displace Gaza's population permanently, in line with a plan announced by US President Donald Trump to turn the enclave into a waterfront resort under US control. Israel says it would encourage Palestinians who wish to leave voluntarily.

Israeli troops resumed their operation in Gaza on March 18, following a two-month truce. Ministers have said the operation will continue until 59 hostages still held in Gaza are returned. Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that brings a permanent end to the war.

The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has reduced much of Gaza to ruins and killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health authorities.