Confrontations Renew Between Tunisian Security, Protesters in Tataouine

Protestors stage a sit-in outside the oil and gas plant in El Kamour, in Tunisia’s southern state of Tatatouine (AFP)
Protestors stage a sit-in outside the oil and gas plant in El Kamour, in Tunisia’s southern state of Tatatouine (AFP)
TT
20

Confrontations Renew Between Tunisian Security, Protesters in Tataouine

Protestors stage a sit-in outside the oil and gas plant in El Kamour, in Tunisia’s southern state of Tatatouine (AFP)
Protestors stage a sit-in outside the oil and gas plant in El Kamour, in Tunisia’s southern state of Tatatouine (AFP)

Protests and clashes broke out again on Friday between protesters and army units in Remada city, in Tunisia’s Tataouine state.

This comes in light of the shooting incident against Mansour al-Taroumi on Tuesday evening near the Tunisian-Libyan border.

Protesters burned tires and closed the roads using containers and rocks to prevent army vehicles from entering the neighborhoods as security units chased demonstrators inside residential compounds.

The military judiciary launched a probe to determine the incident’s ramifications and find out whether the young man died from the bullets fired by soldiers at four cars that were smuggled from Libya.

President Kais Saied warned on Thursday of the dangers of attempting to drag the army into internal political struggles amid ongoing protests in Tataouine.

During a meeting of the National Security Council, the President warned of the gravity of the situation, noting that some unnamed parties are trying to harm the state by targeting its institutions and trying to diminish its authority in some regions.

Few hours earlier, more than 100 people gathered near oil facilities southeastern Tunisia to denounce the marginalization and demand job opportunities and investments, according to an AFP photographer.

On Thursday, dozens of people staged a sit-in outside the oil and gas plant in El Kamour desert area.

Mostly youth, protesters set up tents and prevented trucks of the six petroleum companies involved in extracting oil and gas from passing.

Saied said in a video released on the presidential official Facebook page that the “situation in the south is not acceptable.”

He affirmed the “legitimacy” of these protests, noting that he is ready to receive any of the protesters to hold talks and reach a settlement.

The Kamour movement, which has been leading the local protests since 2017, called on the government to provide more job opportunities and put an end to regional development inequality.

Protesters demand that the government implement the terms of an agreement concluded in 2017, which provides for jobs and investments in the marginalized region.



At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church

A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
TT
20

At Least 15 Killed in Suicide Bombing at Damascus Church

A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A Syrian man reacts inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweila in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

At least 15 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Mar Elias Church in the Dweila neighborhood of Syria's capital Damascus on Sunday, security sources said.

Syria's interior ministry said the suicide bomber was an ISIS member. He entered the church, opened fire and then detonated his explosive vest, the ministry added in a statement.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two men were involved in the attack, including the one who blew himself up.

Syria's state news agency cited the health ministry as putting the preliminary casualty toll at nine dead and 13 injured.

Some local media reported that children were among the casualties.

A livestream from the site by Syria's civil defense, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction from within the church, including a bloodied floor and shattered church pews and masonry.

Syrian Information Minister Hamza Mostafa condemned the attack, calling it a terrorist attack.

“This cowardly act goes against the civic values that brings us together,” he said in a post on X. “We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship ... and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organizations and to protect society from all attacks threatening its safety.”