Tunisia: Clashes erupt after man sets himself ablaze

Protests broke out in Sousse, Tunisia, after a 26-year-old man set himself on fire outside a police station following a dispute over confiscated money, AFP reports citing a judicial source. Videos circulating online showed demonstrators throwing rocks and smoke bombs at security forces in the coastal city in eastern Tunisia

According to court spokesman Wissem Cherif, the man, suspected of drug use, had visited the station to retrieve his seized funds. He later returned and self-immolated. He remains in critical condition. Authorities have not confirmed casualties or arrests from the unrest.

The incident echoes the 2010 self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, which ignited Tunisia’s revolution and the wider Arab Spring. While Tunisia initially emerged as the movement’s democratic success story, it now faces political repression and economic decline. Cases of self-immolation persist, particularly in marginalized regions, highlighting ongoing frustration with government policies and deteriorating social conditions.