Saturday, January 29, 2011

An uprising in Tunisia

Beginning in December of last year, a series of ongoing protests in the streets of Tunisia escalated to the point where President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali - who had ruled the country for 23 years - at first declared he would not seek re-election, then fled the country on January 14th. An interim government was assembled, but protesters remain in the streets, demanding removal of all traces of Ben Ali's old RCD party. Protesters' frustrations with high unemployment, inflation and corruption drove them to the streets after a pivotal event, when a young Tunisian vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after police confiscated his produce cart. Bouazizi died of his injuries days later. Collected here are images of the turmoil in Tunisia over the past couple of weeks. (40 photos total)

People demonstrate during a protest in central Tunis on January 17, 2011. After weeks of demonstrations, Tunisian protesters called for the abolition of ousted president Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali's ruling party on January 17 amid a chaotic power vacuum as politicians prepared a government of national unity. Hundreds of people rallied in Tunis and there were similar protests in Sidi Bouzid and Regueb in central Tunisia -- two towns at the heart of the movement that forced Ben Ali to resign and flee on Friday after 23 years in power. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)


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A handout picture released by the Tunisian Presidency shows Tunisian president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali (2nd from left) looking at Mohamed Al Bouazzizi (right), during his visit at the hospital in Ben Arous near Tunis on December 28, 2010. Mohamed Al Bouazzizi, a 26-year-old university graduate, who was forced to sell fruit and vegetables on the streets, doused himself in petrol and set himself alight on December 17, which left him in a serious condition with severe burns. Days of rioting in Tunisia by mostly jobless and frustrated young people protesting violently against the government has exposed the crippling unemployment problem in the north African country. (TUNISIA PRESIDENCY/AFP/Getty Images)

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Demonstrators clash with Tunisian security force members on December 27, 2010 in Tunis. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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Smoke rises from fire left after clashes between security forces and demonstrators in Tunis on January 14, 2011 after Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's address to the nation. Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali had sacked the government and called early elections in six months, the prime minister announced as weeks of deadly unrest mounted with new clashes. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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Soldiers stand guard near a tank on a street of Tunis on January 16, 2011. Heavy gunfire was heard in the center of Tunisian capital on Sunday with security forces exchanging fire with people inside buildings, AFP journalists said. An army helicopter circled over Avenue Bourguiba near the interior ministry. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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A cat crosses an empty street on January 16, 2011 in the center of Tunis. Dozens of people crowded on Sunday at the few stalls open at the main market in Tunis as soldiers patrolled the streets but spirits were high after the overthrow of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. "Our children will live in a free country," said Mouna Ouerghi, 29, a university lecturer who was queuing for bread. "The situation is getting better," she said. "A lot of shops are open today. We believe in our people." (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

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Protesters demonstrate against Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

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A demonstrator argues with a policeman during a protest in the center of Tunis on January 17, 2011. Hundreds of people rallied in central Tunis on Monday to demand the abolition of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ruling RDC party as police fired volleys of tear gas to break up the protest. "We don't want anyone from the old party in the new government. That includes the prime minister," one protester told AFP on condition of anonymity. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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A Tunisian soldier screams as he tries to calm down rioters during clashes with the police in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

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Protesters greet soldiers during a demonstration against former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, Monday, Jan. 17. 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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A demonstrator reacts as security forces use water cannons to disperse protesters in downtown Tunis January 17, 2011. (REUTERS/Stringer)

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Tunisian demonstrators, some standing on the windowsills and main door of the Interior ministry in Tunis, on January 14, 2011, rally demanding President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's resignation. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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Demonstrators move away from teargas used by police during a demonstration in Tunis, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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A man struggles to breath e as a teargas canister fired by police lies in the road during demonstrations in Tunis on January 17, 2011. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

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Police disperse demonstrators in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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A man lies injured during a demonstration in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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Press photographers walk through clouds of tear gas during demonstrations in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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A man buys a daily newspaper in central Tunis on January 18, 2011. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

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A man walks past closed tourist shops in Tunis' souk on January 16, 2011. Dozens of people crowded on Sunday at the few stalls open at the main market in Tunis as soldiers patrolled the streets but spirits were high after the overthrow of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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Tunisian men hold sticks as they stand guard by a barricade in La Gazella city near Tunis on January 15, 2011. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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Tunisians shout slogans as they demonstrate against Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi)

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Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against Tunisia's new government in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

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A demonstration is held against the country's new government in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

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A police officer chases a tear gas canister he lost during a protest against the Constitutional Democratic Rally, RCD, party of Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, Tuesday, Jan. 18. 2011. (AP Photo/Salah Habibi)

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A riot policeman faces off with a protester during a demonstration in downtown Tunis January 18, 2011. (REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi)

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A protester shows an empty bullet casing after riot police broke up a demonstration in downtown Tunis January 18, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

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Riot police officers detain a protester during clashes in Tunis, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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A rioter throws a tear gas canister, from the riot police, towards the riot police during clashes in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

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Rioters carry a woman crying during clashes with the police in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

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A Tunisian demonstrator holds his breadstick like a weapon in front of riot police during a protest against the country's new government in Tunis on January 18, 2011. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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Protesters mask their face against tear gas during clashes with police after a demonstration against the Constitutional Democratic Rally, RCD, party of Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, Tuesday, Jan. 18. 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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Smoke billows from a French and a Tunisian supermarket on January 15, 2011 in La Gazella city near Tunis. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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Family of Tunisian soldiers killed by snipers trying to defend deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's iron-fisted regime, attend a ceremony in Tunisia, Tuesday Jan. 18, 2011 in Tunis. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi)

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A man looks at inscriptions written on the walls in the burnt and looted house that belonged to the nephew of ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Hammamet, some 60 kms south-east of Tunis, on January 19, 2011. (MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images)

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A Tunisian woman steps on a picture showing ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 18, 2011 at the Kasbah in Tunis. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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A protester kicks a policeman during clashes with riot police in downtown of the capital Tunis January 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

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People shout as they demonstrate in the center of Tunis on January 17, 2011. Hundreds of people rallied in central Tunis on Monday to demand the abolition of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's ruling RDC party as police fired volleys of tear gas to break up the protest. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

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A Tunisian demonstrator holds a cage and the national flag during a rally on January 14, 2011 outside the Interior ministry in Tunis, demanding President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's resignation. (FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

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A woman walks past a tank as flowers are displayed on it in the center of Tunis, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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Protesters hold a Tunisian Flag during a demonstration in the center of Tunis, Wednesday, Jan. 19. 2011. Protesters sang nationalist songs and held up signs with "RCD Out!", referring to Ben Ali's former ruling party, as they rallied on central Avenue Bourguiba. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

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