A Tunisian teenager was killed on Friday and ten others were wounded when protestors attacked a national guard post in a region gripped by tensions over youth joblessness, sthe government said. Mohamed Ammari, who was 18, died when he was shot in the chest during a confrontation with security forces in the town of Menzel Bouzaiene, in the central Sidi Bouzid region, tudent representative Mohamed Fadhel told AFP.
Several thousand people took part in the protest, which quickly turned violent, said Fadhel. Protesters set fire to three police vehicles, a train locomotive, the local headquarters of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally party and a national guard post, Fadhel said. Police had surrounded the town and were not letting people travel in or out, and many arrests had been made, he added.
The government confirmed the incident, and said two members of the national guard were in a serious condition with burns. After attempting to disperse the crowd by firing warning shots, security forces opened fire in "self defense," said a Tunisian interior ministry official. According to AFP, tensions have been growing in the region since the attempted suicide on December 17 of 26-year-old university graduate Mohammed Bouazizi, who was forced to scratch out a living peddling fruit and vegetables because he could not find a job.
