Anti-government riots continued Sunday and Monday in Tunisia despite a curfew imposed from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM in the capital, Tunis, and surrounding areas.
The violence was ignited by a comment made by Interior Minister Farhat Rajhi last week. Rajhi expressed concern that there might be a military coup if the Islamist Ennahda (Renaissance) party were to win upcoming elections scheduled for July.
The elections are intended to establish a permanent government, following the “Jasmine Revolution” uprising in January that toppled the 23-year regime of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
But Tunisia's interim Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi told citizens in a televised address Monday those elections might now be delayed.
“The government made a commitment by choosing the date of July 24 and we intend to keep to that date, but if the reform committee says there are technical and logistical hitches, there will be another probability to discuss,” Essebsi said.
“It is true we have been slow in dealing with this but the high commission charged with preparing these crucial elections in July is independent and the government is only giving it material and logistical support.”
The provisional government, said Essebsi, would complete its work on the day of the elections.
On Sunday, 25-year-old Mahmoud El-Tounsi was killed by a bullet fired by government forces, who dispersed stone-throwing protesters in the Slimane suburb of Tunis.
The incident was witnessed by Abdallah Gasmi, a senior Democratic labor Party official, who relayed it to the AFP news agency. Government officials did not confirm the shooting, and were unwilling to tell reporters how many were killed or wounded in protests over the weekend.
At least 70 people were arrested over the weekend, according to one report that quoted an Interior Ministry source.
Protesters armed with knives, chains, sabres and gas bombs torched five police stations on Saturday, according to officials quoted by the AFP. Shops and apartment buildings were also attacked and looted, officials said.
Police used tear gas, truncheons and iron bars to break up demonstrations Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
There was also violence at an African Champions League soccer match Saturday between Tunisia's Club Africain and Sudan's Al-Hilal.
Tunisian fans torched seats and then invaded the pitch. They beat the referee and players, according to images seen on Tunisian television. Nine police officers were injured in the melee, including one seriously. Police used tear gas and batons to break up the riot. The match was suspended.
Last week, meanwhile, security forces beat journalists covering various protests, wounding some 15 local and international reporters and photographers.
The Tunisian Interior Ministry later apologized for the incidents, saying it had identified the security personnel responsible for the beatings and was dealing with them, according to a report published in Tunisia's La Presse newspaper.
Dozens of journalists protested in central Tunis near the Interior Ministry on Monday, calling for freedom of the press and protesting the attacks.