Tunisia: Authorities reach agreement with protesters in Tataouine November 7 /update 4

Event

Tunisian authorities announced that they had reached an agreement with protesters in Tataouine (Tataouine governorate) on Saturday, November 7, following months of unrest in the city. The protests, which started in late-May, had been held in order to pressure the government to follow through on a promise to create jobs in the impoverished region and caused production at oil and gas facilities in the city to be halted.

Further protests cannot be ruled out should the government fail to act on the agreement.

Context

Demonstrations have been taking place in the region since late May over an unfulfilled government promise to implement the 2017 El Kamour Agreement by creating 1,500 jobs in the energy industry, as well as other promises of investment in the region. Despite agreements to create 500 jobs in June, protest groups demanded that the government fully honor the original quota and allocate 80 million dinars (32 million USD) in development funding for the governorate. Protests escalated in July following the arrest of a protest leader.

Advice

Those in Tataouine governorate are advised to monitor the situation, anticipate travel disruption in the case of future demonstrations, and avoid any associated political gatherings.