By Tarek Amara
TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisian police fired tear gas to disperse protesters near the Tunisian Chemical Group’s (CGT) phosphate headquarters in the southern city of Gabes, after residents stormed the facility demanding its closure to stop environmental pollution and rising respiratory illnesses.
The protest highlights the pressure on President Kais Saied’s government, already strained by a deep economic and financial crisis, to balance public health demands with the production of phosphate, Tunisia’s most valuable natural resource.
After the protest reached the chemical complex headquarters, it turned violent after police fired tear gas and forced the protesters to move away from the site, chasing them through the city streets.
Witnesses told Reuters that protesters set fire to a branch office of the complex’s administration in the city, and emergency teams were trying to extinguish the fire. Protesters blocked roads in the city.
Earlier in the day, demonstrators were inside the facility and chanted slogans calling for its closure and dismantling, witnesses said and videos on social media showed.
In an effort to quell the rising anger and escalating protests, Saied met late on Saturday with the Ministers of Environment and Energy, urging them to send delegations to carry out necessary repairs at the phosphate acid unit of the complex.
“Gabes has turned into a city of death, people are struggling to breathe, many residents suffer from cancer or bone fragility due to the severe pollution,” Khaireddine Dbaya, one of the protesters, told Reuters.
GABES SUFFERING ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
CGT did not reply to Reuters’ attempts to seek comment on the situation in Gabes. In the past, it has not responded to accusations of pollution.
Saied said last week that Gabes was suffering an “environmental assassination” due to what he called criminal old policy choices, blaming them for widespread illness and the destruction of local ecosystems.
In 2017, authorities pledged to dismantle the Gabes complex and replace it with a facility that meets international standards, acknowledging that its emissions posed a danger to local residents. However, the plan has yet to be implemented.
Tons of industrial waste are discharged into Gabes’ Chatt Essalam sea daily.
Environmental groups warn that marine life has been severely affected with local fishermen reporting a dramatic decline in fish stocks over the past decade, hitting a vital source of income for many in the region.
The latest wave of protests was triggered this week after dozens of school children suffered breathing difficulties caused by toxic fumes from the nearby plant.
Videos showed panicked parents and emergency crews assisting students struggling to breathe, further fuelling public outrage and calls for the plant’s closure.
The government aims to revive the phosphate industry by increasing production fivefold to 14 million tonnes by 2030 to capitalize on rising global demand.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alistair Bell)
