Tunisian protesters storm chemicals complex over health fears

Audio By Carbonatix

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS (Reuters) -Residents entered the state-run Tunisian Chemical Group’s (CGT) phosphate complex in the southern city of Gabes on Saturday, demanding its closure to prevent environmental pollution and respiratory illnesses, witnesses said.  

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.

Demonstrators were walking inside the facility and chanting slogans calling for its closure and dismantling, witnesses said and videos on social media showed. 

Army soldiers and military vehicles were seen stationed inside the complex, though no clashes were reported.

“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 respond to Reuters’ attempts to seek comment on the situation in Gabes.

President 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. 

He urged swift action and the adoption of youth-proposed solutions to address an ongoing environmental crisis. 

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’s 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 schoolchildren 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)