Tunisian soccer fans clash with police amid economic unrest

By AP
Published

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) Tunisian soccer fans have clashed with police in the capital two days after a match was canceled amid nationwide economic protests.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khalifa Chibani said more than 1,000 fans of club Esperance Sportive de Tunis gathered Monday evening in the working class Bab Souika neighborhood of Tunis.

Chibani said the crowd attacked a government building with stones and bottles, before police fired back with tear gas.

The Tunisian team was scheduled to play a friendly match with a Palestinian team on Saturday. The club's management canceled the match because authorities steeply reduced the number of people allowed to attend, citing security reasons.

Price hikes have trigged days of protests and rioting across Tunisia. Many Tunisians accuse authorities of betraying the 2011 revolution that sparked uprisings across the Arab world.