Riot Demo Breaks Out In Tunisia, Thousands Of Masses Demand The Closure Of Pollution Pupuk Biang Factory

Illustration of police security. (Corey Agopian-Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Chaos broke out when thousands of masses rallied in southern Tunisia demanding the closure of an old chemical fertilizer plant that was accused of causing poisoning and local health problems.

Citing AFP, Thursday, October 16, chaos occurred as a long march crowd approached the Tunisian Chemical Group plant on Wednesday, October 15.

Police fired large amounts of tear gas to push the crowd back. However, the average crowd of teenagers did not budge to reply by throwing objects at the authorities.

In recent weeks, 122 people have been hospitalized in the city of Gabes for cases alleged to be due to the factory. Locals accuse high-potential cancer waste from a nearby Tunisian Chemical Group processing phosphate.

"This must stop. My three children and I suffered from asthma, my husband and mother died of cancer from" the factory, said Lamia Ben Mohamed, a 52-year-old protester.

"We want to breathe," the protesters shouted, while dozens of motorcycles in the front row honked.

Pantuan jurnalis AFP dan sumber kepolisian, jumlah massa awalnya sekitar 2.000 orang kemudian berkembang menjadi beberapa ribu orang.

Organized by collective Stop Pollution, the demonstration demands the closure of the old fertilizer factory, whose disposal of waste into the Mediterranean Sea has led to protests among residents of badminton for a long time.

Residents also blamed the factory for declining fish, beach pollution, respiratory disease, and cancer.

This condemnation has escalated in the past month to the end of yesterday's mass action.