News / Africa

Tunisian Police Use Tear Gas on Protesters

Radical Islamist militants leave as police use tear gas during a demonstration in Tunis, Tunisia, October 14, 2011.
Radical Islamist militants leave as police use tear gas during a demonstration in Tunis, Tunisia, October 14, 2011.
TEXT SIZE - +

Tunisian police have used tear gas to disperse protesters who made a second attempt on Friday to march to a television station that aired a controversial film.

Witnesses say the demonstrators were stopped by authorities as they moved near the Nessema TV station in Tunis.

On Sunday police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of Islamists who rallied outside the station.  They were angered by the station's recent showing of Persepolis.  Protesters say the film about Iran's 1979 revolution denigrates Islam.

Tensions have heightened between Islamists and secularists over Tunisia's future as the country prepares for elections this month.

The voting on October 23 will mark the country's first elections since a revolution toppled former President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter
and discuss them on our Facebook page.

You May Like

Video NASA Introduces New Astronaut Candidates

NASA says half appointees are women, making this highest percentage of female astronauts in one class More

Singapore, Malaysia Choke as Illegal Indonesia Forest Fires Rage

Illegal clearing of forests by burning is a recurrent problem, particularly during annual dry season that stretches from June to September More

Scandals Hit Obama's Standing With US Voters

Obama's approval rating fell eight percentage points over past month to 45 percent More

This forum has been closed.
Comments
     
There are no comments in this forum. Be first and add one

Featured Videos

Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Your JavaScript is turned off or you have an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Video

Video Egyptian Support for Syrian Opposition is Words Over Action

Egypt has further aligned itself with those trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But as VOA's Elizabeth Arrott reports from Cairo, it remains unclear how far Egypt will back its words with action.