Tunisian police used tear gas and water cannons on Friday against hundreds of protesters who violated a ban on gatherings to protest President Kais Saied’s power grab in July.
As the country marks 11 years since the fall of the late dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, hundreds of Syed’s opponents rallied against his July 2021 power grab.
They had gathered despite restrictions imposed on Thursday, apparently to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Around 300 protesters gathered on Mohammed V Avenue, where some broke the police cordon before the police returned with sticks.
AFP journalists saw several people being arrested.
Security forces had heavily deployed to block him from reaching central Habib Bourguiba Avenue and the Interior Ministry headquarters, where massive protests forced Ben Ali to flee to Saudi Arabia in early 2011.
Some protesters chanted “Down with the coup!” on Friday, a reference to Syed’s July 25 moves in which he sacked the government, froze parliament and seized an assortment of powers.
He has since ruled virtually by decree to the ire of his opponents, including the powerful Islamist-inspired Ennahda Party.
Some Tunisians, tired of the inept and corruption-ridden parliamentary system, welcomed his move.
But for Ennahdha supporters, they are a reminder of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s crackdown on Islamic protests, which killed hundreds in 2013 and imprisoned thousands.
“You’re working for CC and the UAE!” A woman told a policeman.
The protests took place despite a number of measures, including a night curfew and a ban on public gatherings, brought in on Thursday evening to tackle the rapid rise in coronavirus infections.
Ennahdha has said that the measures are politically motivated.
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