A Tunisian man died on Saturday from burns he sustained after setting himself on fire in the heart of the Tunisian capital, in an incident reminiscent of the spark that ignited the Tunisian revolution in 2011 when street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi self-immolated. The Civil Protection Department reported that a 35-year-old man "set himself on fire on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, suffering third-degree burns," and was rushed to a center for injuries and burns. Later that evening, local media and state television reported that the man, whose motives remain unknown, succumbed to his injuries.
Tunisian radio station "Mosaic FM" reported on Saturday, citing a source, that the public prosecutor at the Tunis Court of First Instance examined the body and issued an order to initiate necessary investigations to uncover the circumstances of the incident. Civil Protection spokesperson Moez Tariha revealed that the victim had "burns all over his body" and was transported to a medical center in Ben Arous, Greater Tunis.
A witness, who requested anonymity, stated that the man arrived at Habib Bourguiba Avenue in downtown Tunis accompanied by a younger individual. He added that they attempted to draw the attention of journalists who were present to cover a protest, before the man poured an incendiary liquid over himself and ignited it with a lighter. Bystanders tried to take the lighter from him, but he began running among the crowded café sidewalks. Some individuals attempted to extinguish the flames with available means before the Civil Protection intervened.
This incident recalls the act of street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi (26 years old) who set himself on fire on December 17, 2010, igniting the Tunisian revolution that led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and sparked subsequent uprisings during the Arab Spring. Last Saturday, a young man, Najib Hafian, who was one of the injured from the revolution in Tunisia, also died from burning in a popular suburb of the capital, according to information received by AFP from his family on Monday. Hafian was unemployed and was theoretically entitled to financial compensation and other benefits as one of the "wounded" from the revolution.
