Tunis, Special Envoy - A girl stands in front of the tank and installation, the smile left, the time that his mother take a picture. The armored military and its lattice, stationed at the mall The Zephyr, became the darling of the neighborhood of La Marsa, north of Tunis. Everyone comes here to take a picture khaki background.It seems as natural as going to sit down café terraces, crowded on this Sunday 12:16 January. In Tunisia the post-Ben Ali, the army has become, in the twinkling of an eye, the most revered institutions in the country. We count on her to stop looting, put down the militias, protecting residents and public buildings.
It is the white knight of the new era. But a poor knight. Military reinforcements, from the South, would be expected shortly in the capital, we are assured on good authority. "Soldiers are not numerous enough, they need help," said Ahmed, a student, volunteered as dozens of other residents to stand guard, a club in his hand, into his lane.
Vigilance committees have mushroomed across the country, in cities, villages, too, in order to dam the militia and police of the former regime, since Friday, trying to plunge into chaos Tunisia. "We chased Ben Ali, but they must also hunt. As we did not succeed, the Tunisian flag is only half lifted, "said one trader, hat on his head, standing on the corner of Avenue Taieb-Mehiri and Salem Street -Bouadjeb.
Several suspects, identified by the vigilance committees have been arrested by the army. It is almost 18:30, and an initial burst of gunfire rang, very close. "It's just there!" shouted a man reaching out to the confused mass of a grove of trees surrounded by high walls. It is pitch dark.
We can not see drop despite the street lights that are strung out along the avenue. A military vehicle passes at pace. The firing stopped. A few moments later, when the soldiers repass, cheers greet them. During the early evening, the atmosphere is almost relaxed. Admittedly, there were these shots - but this is not the first .
Everyone ended up getting used to, as the thud of helicopters that identify suspicious movements, including those looters. To the north of Tunis, Kram district to that of Marsa, destroyed property did not by the militia of the former regime. Monoprix store in Carthage, for example, was burned before the bank close to or surrounding businesses are affected.
Saturday in broad daylight, we could still cross here and there, looters needy, pushing carts full of what they could scrounge from the rubble of the store - owned by a member of the great family of the ex-president. Several houses belonging to Trabelsi (the maiden name of wife of Ben Ali), were ransacked.
And a string of car park belonging to a member of "the family" have been stolen, burned or boneless. "People's Car", was it written (in Arabic) on the door of one of these wrecks. These are but trifles, compared with looting malls perpetrated by armed bands of militia and police "Benales.
Not to mention the abuses and killings. In the streets surrounding the avenue Taieb-Mehiri at each dam, discussions begin. We exchange information. More than a hundred members of the former presidential guard had taken refuge inside the palace in Carthage, they say, the army trying to dislodge them.
The barracks also Gammarth is "busy". Finally, we repeat that several foreign snipers, among them French, were arrested. Suddenly, at about 19:15 hours, heavy gunfire broke out. The shootout lasted several long minutes. Everyone scared, rushed to shelter. Women and children, who were chatting outside, near the dam, rush inside the house.
The alarm went, nervousness remains high. The foreign journalist, cordially welcomed five minutes earlier, is being brutally confiscated passport and mobile phone. The evening ends at the police station, the time of verification of identity. To 21 hours, state television announced that the palace of Carthage was emptied of its occupants - that without clarification of the number - and placed under army control.
The sniper case was mentioned. No word, however, on the barracks of Gammarth. Marsa falls asleep, sinking into a troubled sleep. Catherine Simon Article published in the edition of 18.01.11
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