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| Tunisia Sets Nationwide Curfew Amid Growing Unrest | Tunisia Sets Nationwide Curfew Amid Growing Unrest |
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| TUNIS — The Tunisian government imposed a nationwide curfew on Friday after protests against unemployment spread across the country and grew more violent, in an echo of the Arab Spring uprising five years ago. | TUNIS — The Tunisian government imposed a nationwide curfew on Friday after protests against unemployment spread across the country and grew more violent, in an echo of the Arab Spring uprising five years ago. |
| The Interior Ministry announced the measure — a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. — on its Facebook page, warning of “danger to the security of the state and its citizens.” A spokesman said violent jihadist groups could take advantage of the chaos created by the protests to cause more violence. | |
| Demonstrations have been growing all week, after an unemployed man died on Saturday in the western town of Kasserine. The man, Ridha Yahyaoui, 28, was electrocuted when he climbed a telephone pole in protest after seeing that his name was not included on a list of new public-sector jobs, his father told a local radio station. | Demonstrations have been growing all week, after an unemployed man died on Saturday in the western town of Kasserine. The man, Ridha Yahyaoui, 28, was electrocuted when he climbed a telephone pole in protest after seeing that his name was not included on a list of new public-sector jobs, his father told a local radio station. |
| His desperate act came almost exactly five years after the uprising that toppled President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. That revolt was set off by the suicide of an impoverished fruit seller named Mohamed Bouazizi, in the town of Sidi Bouzid, who set himself on fire after the police ordered him to remove his street stall. | His desperate act came almost exactly five years after the uprising that toppled President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. That revolt was set off by the suicide of an impoverished fruit seller named Mohamed Bouazizi, in the town of Sidi Bouzid, who set himself on fire after the police ordered him to remove his street stall. |
| Mr. Bouazizi’s death became a symbol of popular frustration that many say has not eased in the five years since. Unemployment stands at 30 percent among young people; the interior of the country remains underdeveloped and its population marginalized. | Mr. Bouazizi’s death became a symbol of popular frustration that many say has not eased in the five years since. Unemployment stands at 30 percent among young people; the interior of the country remains underdeveloped and its population marginalized. |
| Kasserine, a poor agricultural town that was one of the centers of protest in 2011, has led the latest wave of demonstrations. Protesters are demanding jobs and economic development, saying successive governments have failed to deliver them since the revolution. | Kasserine, a poor agricultural town that was one of the centers of protest in 2011, has led the latest wave of demonstrations. Protesters are demanding jobs and economic development, saying successive governments have failed to deliver them since the revolution. |
| The daily protests turned violent as young people threw stones at the police, and security forces dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannons. | The daily protests turned violent as young people threw stones at the police, and security forces dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannons. |
| On Wednesday, a police officer died and several others were injured in an accident when their vehicle rolled over in Kasserine. | On Wednesday, a police officer died and several others were injured in an accident when their vehicle rolled over in Kasserine. |
| Protests spread across the country by Thursday night, as protesters blocked roads with burning tires, and they smashed and looted stores and government buildings. Tunisian news outlets reported that protesters had attacked the governor’s office in the town of Jendouba in the northwest and that a customs building had been burned in the holy city of Kairouan. | |
| Police stations were attacked and seven security vehicles were burned on Thursday, said Walid Lougini, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. He warned that threats on social media from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the most prominent jihadist group in the region, proposed taking advantage of the unrest. | |
| In the sprawling working-class neighborhood of Ettadhamen in the capital, a bank and an electronics store were looted and a vehicle was set alight on Thursday night. | In the sprawling working-class neighborhood of Ettadhamen in the capital, a bank and an electronics store were looted and a vehicle was set alight on Thursday night. |
| Members of the National Guard in armored vehicles stood watch at either end of the main thoroughfare by midafternoon on Friday, flanked by half a dozen riot police vans. | Members of the National Guard in armored vehicles stood watch at either end of the main thoroughfare by midafternoon on Friday, flanked by half a dozen riot police vans. |
| Crowds of young people milled in the streets as residents inspected the damage. Few voiced support for the looting, but they warned that people were cracking under economic hardship and unemployment. | Crowds of young people milled in the streets as residents inspected the damage. Few voiced support for the looting, but they warned that people were cracking under economic hardship and unemployment. |
| “What happened here was mostly stealing,” said Moez Hlel, 28, who works as a cook. | “What happened here was mostly stealing,” said Moez Hlel, 28, who works as a cook. |
| He said he had seen looters carrying off a refrigerator the night before. “But in other places people are poor; they do not have enough to eat.” | |
| “People are fed up; they cannot take it anymore,” he said, grasping his throat in a choking gesture. | |
| “From the top to the bottom, the officials are corrupt,” he said. | “From the top to the bottom, the officials are corrupt,” he said. |