TUNIS, Aug 9, 2012 (AFP)
TUNIS, Aug 9, 2012 (AFP)
Here are the main developments in Tunisia since the popular uprising in December 2010 that led to the ouster of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power, sparking the Arab Spring revolts.
– January 14, 2011: Confronted with a massive popular movement, Ben Ali leaves for Saudi Arabia with his family, becoming the first Arab leader to step down in what will soon become known as the ‘Arab Spring’.
– September 6: The government announces a strict application of the state of emergency and announces a ban on police engaging in union activities. Violence rocks the country.
– October 23: Islamist group Ennahda wins 89 of the 217 seats in Tunisia’s new constituent assembly after the country’s first free election.
– April 9, 2012: Riot police fire tear gas and baton-charge protesters in central Tunis who defy a ban on demonstrations, in some of the worst violence in the city in months.
– June 12: The government condemns as “terrorism” a spate of overnight attacks on courts and other state buildings by gangs including Islamist hardliners.
– July 26: Police fire warning shots and tear gas to disperse protesters, angry over their living conditions, who attacked provincial government headquarters in Sidi Bouzid, where the protect movement began in 2010.
– August 9: Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse a protest in Sidi Bouzid. Hundreds of demonstrators demand the resignation of the Islamist-led government, accuse the ruling elite of “hypocrisy” and demand employment.
