Violence has erupted in the Maghreb region. The riots, which began in Tunis a few days ago, have spread to Algeria, where a deep tension reigns after riots and clashes during part of last night in several neighborhoods of Algiers because of rising prices. The most violent protests have erupted in the ancient quarter of Bab El Oued, ten minutes from downtown Algiers, where traces of the fighting and destruction were still visible, according to Efe.Early in the evening, hundreds of youths took to the streets of this neighborhood and surrounded the police station to report the escalation of prices and the significant rise in consumer products such as sugar and oil. The police have been overwhelmed and could not contain the anger of the protesters, some of whom have taken to break electronics stores, clothing or telephone.
Armed with iron bars and with various weapons, including homemade swords, rioters have clashed with police for hours, which has used riot gear to disperse them, witnesses reported, and residents. The fighting lasted into the night and led many on both sides, and the arrival of police reinforcements has failed to calm things down.
Important effective crowd control units have taken the neighborhood of Bab El Oue. Yesterday, there were other episodes of anger in other districts of Algiers, Cheraga, Bouchaoui or Ain Beni, where hundreds of people have occupied the streets to protest the high cost of living and have chanted slogans hostile to the central power.
Since the start of the year, the popular response has reached the four corners of the country and various regions of Algeria, as Tipaza, Blida, El Taref, Oran, Algeria, Ouargla and Djelfa, have been the scene of conflict rising prices. According to local press published today, the Minister of Commerce Mustafa Benben, has expressed concern about rising prices, which he described as unacceptable, and has announced measures to remedy the situation.
In Tunisia, where it is today convened a day of general strike, violence has also starred in those days. The protests against the dictatorship has caused the biggest crisis in 23 years in Tunisia.
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