This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011 [1].
On April 13, 2012, police clashed with a group of young protestors from Cité El Mallaha in the port of Radès [2], just south of the capital Tunis and considered to be a suburb of it. The clashes started [3] that night, a Friday, and continued into the following week. The protesters were staging a sit-in, demanding a share of some jobs which had been recently created in Radès port, near Cité El Mallaha.
The police fired tear gas [4] at the protestors, dispersing them. They then chased them, even onto rooftops. Some protestors were detained [5], which led to further protests and clashes.
These clashes come just a few days after similar clashes over jobs erupted [6] [ar] in the southern city of Moularès [7], and police violence against jobless protestors in Tunis [8].
Blogger Tounsiahourra tweeted [ar]:
She added [ar]:
The following video [12] from TunisByNightt [13] shows police invading the streets of Cité El Mallaha in Radès:
The protestors reacted by pelting security forces [3] with stones and Molotov cocktails. And blogger Haykel tweeted:
@Haykel7 [14]: markez ecchorta fel Maléha #Rades totalement brûlé hier #tunisie #tngov
Twitter user Narjess expressed her fear about the increase in clashes between protesters and police:
@NJESSREB [15]: La question qui se pose:vont-il prolonger l'état d urgence qui prend fin le 30 avril? #OmLaarayes #Rades #1Mai #Tourisme #Tunisie
Media blackout
Blogger Wessim tweeted [ar]:
Tounsiahourra criticized the media blackout [ar]:
Med Salah M'Barek tweeted:
@MidoxTheGeek [19]:#Radès est à 10~15 km du siège de #TTN et aucune équipe n'a été envoyée pour couvrir les évènements !!!
Official media openness
Tunisia's television channels may have ignored the events, but the government didn't. On Twitter [20] Global Voices Advocacy Director Sami Ben Gharbia [21] linked to photos published on Facebook [22] by the Tunisian Interior Ministry.
This post is part of our special coverage Tunisia Revolution 2011 [1].