Thousands Protest against Tunisian President on Sunday

Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination, during a European Union - African Union summit, in Brussels, Belgium February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool
Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination, during a European Union - African Union summit, in Brussels, Belgium February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool
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Thousands Protest against Tunisian President on Sunday

Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination, during a European Union - African Union summit, in Brussels, Belgium February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool
Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a statement on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination, during a European Union - African Union summit, in Brussels, Belgium February 18, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool

Thousands of supporters of the Free Constitutional Party protested on Sunday against President Kais Saied for his march towards one-man rule and failure to avert an economic crisis.

The protest is the biggest by the party since Saied seized executive power last summer, according to Reuters.

"Saied you are going the wrong way... your plans are catastrophic for the country," said Karima Jouini, 44, a teacher attending the march in central Tunis that was led by Moussi.

The most vocal opposition to Saied has come from the moderate Islamist Ennahda party, the largest in the suspended parliament and a key player in successive governments since the revolution.

Moussi and her Free Constitutional party are bitterly opposed to Ennahda, casting it as the cause of Tunisia's main problems over the past decade and she has not criticized any of Saied's moves targeting Islamists.

However, while Saied has focused almost entirely on reconstructing the political system and purging his opponents, he has done very little to address Tunisia's economic problems.

"Rest assured, we will not let them dismantle the state and continue with individual rule," Moussi said, addressing the protest.

"If we remain silent, we will become a country whose food is sent to it in planes, like the poorest countries in the world," she added.

The country faces a crisis in public finances for which it has embarked on talks for a rescue package with the International Monetary Fund, but Tunisians already face shortages of staple goods including flour, semolina and sugar.

"Saied kidnapped the country just to impose his own project, but he has led it to famine," said another protester who gave his name as Imed.



Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Lebanon Says Israeli Airstrike Hits Target in East

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanon's state media said an Israeli airstrike targeted the Baalbek region in the east of the country on Wednesday, branding it a "violation" of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

The truce went into effect on November 27 after more than a year of hostilities that began with the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Both sides have since accused the other of breaching the ceasefire.

Wednesday's strike near the town of Tarya did not result in casualties, the state-run National News Agency said, calling the attack the "first violation of the ceasefire agreement" in the Baalbek area, AFP reported.

A Lebanese security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strike targeted "warehouses believed to belong to Hezbollah".

Hezbollah has for decades held sway in south Beirut, and the south and east of the country.

The war with Israel saw Hezbollah massively weakened but not crushed.

A committee made up of the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and United Nations peacekeepers is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and ensuring violations are identified and dealt with.

Lebanon has asked the parties -- particularly the United States and France -- to press Israel to speed up its withdrawal from the country's south under the terms of the deal.

As part of the truce, the Lebanese army and peacekeepers will deploy in southern Lebanon as the Israeli army pulls out over a period of 60 days, which are due to expire in January 2025.

The Israeli army said on Monday that it was continuing its "defensive activities" in the south "in accordance with the agreement".

It has yet to issue a statement on the reported strike in eastern Lebanon.