08/06/2008
Tunisian police opened fire against rioters on Friday (June 6th) in Redeyef, 350km from Tunis, leaving a 22-year-old man dead and some 22 wounded, local press reported. Unrest in the phosphate mining region of Gafsa has continued for two months, with hundreds of youths rioting over unemployment and rising living costs in the region. AFP quoted Justice and Human Rights Minister Bechir Tekkari as saying on Saturday that the government regrets the death of the man and the injuries. The situation got out of control, he said, when the crowd began throwing Molotov cocktails.