AFP reports that a 32-year-old man from a poor neighborhood of Tunis set himself on fire outside a government building on Monday.
According to emergency services, the man suffered third degree burns to his face, chest and hands. The man, who was from the impoverished Intilakha district of Tunis was extremely poor and suffered from psychological problems. Emergency services representative said that he had had tried to kill himself late last month by leaping from an electricity pylon.
The number of people immolating themselves has increased since a young Tunisian street vendor by the name of Mohammad Bu Azizi set himself on fire on December 17 2010, in a drastic act of protest against police harassment.
The incident was the spark that ignited the Arab Spring.
