Tunisian Opposition Adopts ‘Bread Protests’ after First Death Reported

Protesters clash with riot police attempting to disperse the crowd during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tebourba, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. (Reuters)
Protesters clash with riot police attempting to disperse the crowd during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tebourba, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. (Reuters)
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Tunisian Opposition Adopts ‘Bread Protests’ after First Death Reported

Protesters clash with riot police attempting to disperse the crowd during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tebourba, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. (Reuters)
Protesters clash with riot police attempting to disperse the crowd during demonstrations against rising prices and tax increases, in Tebourba, Tunisia, January 9, 2018. (Reuters)

The first death was reported on Tuesday during Tunisia’s social protests that had erupted on Sunday over rising prices.

The casualty was reported in the ongoing clashes with security forces in Tebourba, 40km west of the capital Tunis.

The ruling coalition parties (mainly Nahda and Nidaa) considered the protests to be destructive operations led by leftist “chaotic” parties, as stated by the head of Nahda Movement Rashed al-Ghanoushi. The opposition parties – led by the Leftist Popular Front – expressed however their support for the protests and called for canceling the 2018 Finance Act.

In remarks on Tuesday, Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef al-Chahed said that recent developments were not “protests, but looting, vandalism and an assault on citizens and their properties,” vowing to apply the law on whom he called as “vandals”.

“Whoever wants to demonstrate comes out in the day, not at night… The government is ready to listen to anyone, and we support and protect those who want to demonstrate peacefully,” he stated.

On the other hand, the Popular Front expressed its support for the protests against the Finance Act of 2018.

In this context, the Front organized a press conference on Tuesday under the title: “Let’s face the budget of impoverishing the people and destroying the economy.”

Speaking on the occasion, Labor Party Member Humma al-Hamami underlined the legitimacy of the protests against the hike of prices in the new finance law.

“Deviations and looting, which accompanied the protests in a number of areas near the capital, are attempts to distort these peaceful movements and to change their course”, he said.

In the meantime, Khalifa al-Shaibani, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, denied the news of the death of a demonstrator in Tebourba after reports said that he was run over by a security vehicle.

He said that the medical staff that administered first aid confirmed that his body did not have any traces of violence, explaining that the deceased was suffering from respiratory problems.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
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Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.