In Tunisia’s capital Tunis on Thursday, both opponents and supporters of President Kais Saied held separate demonstrations, reflecting an increasingly polarized political climate.
Anti-Saied protesters accused him of using the judiciary and police to silence dissent and chanted slogans like "Saied go away, you are a dictator". This was the second opposition protest within a week, amid growing international concern that Tunisia, once a symbol of democratic hope in the Arab world is drifting toward authoritarianism.
Meanwhile, Saied's supporters gathered nearby, voicing their support with chants of "No to foreign interference' and 'The people want Saied again". Riot police were deployed to prevent conflict, and no violence was reported.
The protests follow a crackdown on opposition voices, including the recent arrest of prominent lawyer and former judge Ahmed Souab, known for his vocal criticism of the president. His detention came just after several opposition leaders received prison sentences on conspiracy charges, sparking condemnation from France, Germany, and the United Nations.
Saied dismissed international criticism as interference in Tunisia’s internal affairs. Since 2021, he has dissolved parliament and assumed wide-ranging powers, a move his critics call a coup. He argues it was necessary to combat corruption and bring stability.
Most of Saied’s key political opponents, including Abir Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, are currently imprisoned. While Saied insists Tunisia remains a democracy and denies ambitions of dictatorship, the opposition claims the nation’s democratic gains are being rolled back.
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The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
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Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors as tensions continue to rise.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States has a “virtually unlimited supply” of munitions and is capable of sustaining military action indefinitely, as the conflict with Iran entered its fourth day.
The United Nations has called for an investigation into a deadly attack on a girls’ primary school in Iran, which Iranian officials say has killed more than 100 children. The U.S. has said its forces “would not” deliberately target a school.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
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