Scuffles at protest marking Tunisia’s 2011 revolution

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and MEHDI EL AREM
Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Protestors have scuffled with police in Tunisia’s capital after crowds gathered, in defiance of new COVID-19 restrictions, to mark the 11th anniversary of the revolution that triggered the Arab Spring uprisings. Police fired water cannon and tear gas at a crowd of several hundred in Tunis. Several protestors were arrested Friday, while some were injured. On Wednesday, the government re-imposed a nationwide nighttime curfew and announced a ban on public gatherings, citing a spike in coronavirus infections linked to the omicron variant. Several politicians and civil society activists however have said that the decision was politically motivated, to prevent any commemorative demonstrations of the Jan. 14 anniversary, or anti-government protests.