via Tunisia Live

While Tunisia commemorated the third anniversary of its revolution Tuesday, there were scattered clashes and attempts to attack government and political party buildings in parts of the country. While unrest in Kasserine and Kef districts last week appeared motivated by higher vehicle taxes, the cause of more recent incidents is less clear and has been characterized by the government as simply the work of criminals or delinquents. Some on the ground attribute the incidents to difficult economic conditions. In the coastal city of Sousse, a popular tourist destination, a group blocked off a road leading to the Carrefour shopping mall, radio station Mosaique FM reported. The group burned tires and attempted to loot the headquarters of the municipal government and police used tear gas to disperse the participants, according to the same A group of individuals also raided the headquarters of Ennahdha party in Menzel Jemil, near the northern city of Bizerte, according to Mosaique. Mohamed Ali Aroui, spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, denied any clashes with police officers and accused the groups of theft and violence.

“These individuals raided the impound lot. We already arrested six of them in Menzel Jemil district,” he told Tunisia Live. Similarly, further clashes erupted in Cite Ettadhamen between a group of individuals and police. A road there was blocked by tires, Mosaique FM reported. This suburb to the northwest of Tunis has seen numerous such incidents this year, including an incident last May that left one dead. That dispute occurred as authorities prevented the now-banned Ansar al-Sharia organization from meeting on community’s public square. “The clashes are strongly linked to the intolerable economic situation that strongly affects the lives of young people,” Mohamed Zmender, director of credit at Enda Inter-Arabe Institution, told Tunisia Live. Enda is a microfinance association that has long had a presence in Cite Ettadhamen

“Since the times of Bourguiba and Ben Ali, Tunisians got used to a system of charity, and young men were not encouraged to start their own projects,” Zmender said. His organization works with about 3,000 clients in the Cite Ettadhamen district, he said. According to Zmender, there are about three thousand clients in Hay Ettadhamon district, with Enda providing them loans and financial guidance. Hedi Triki, a journalist in the area, told Tunisia Live that those involved in yesterday’s incident in Cite Ettadhamen “raised no political slogans.” “There were about thirty individuals involved in the riots. They are unemployed young men who seized the opportunity of the demonstrations to steal and raid buildings and shops,” Triki said.