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| Africa North |
| Tunisia president orders army to protect businesses amid protests |
| 2017-05-11 |
| [217.218.67.231] Tunisia’s President Beji Caid Essebsi has ordered the country’s army to do what is necessary to protect businesses amid widening protests against poverty and unemployment. Essebsi said during a speech in Tunis on Wednesday that the "grave but necessary decision" of asking the army to intervene in protests was made at a top-level government security meeting. He said "the state must protect the people's resources" as protesters in Tunisia's impoverished inland provinces become increasingly vocal in their demands for jobs and better living conditions. Demonstrations and sit-ins staged in recent weeks have led to a halt in production at Tunisia’s oil and phosphate facilities as protesters continue to block roads in those areas. Essebsi said continued protests had cost the government five billion dinars (about two billion dollars), especially due to the stoppages of phosphate mining, adding that the situation had worsened the country’s debt. |
| Posted by:Fred |