Police Officer Confirms Burning of a Police Station in Kram

Pesha Magid - Tunisia Live - Last night a police station was burned and vandalized by protesters in Kram. A police officer guarding the station today stated that around 100 people burst into the police quarters during last night’s curfew and overwhelmed the security forces using Molotov cocktails and knives.

Officer Maher stated to Tunisia Live journalist Emily Parker, that the crowd damaged the station’s interior. When he took Parker inside, she saw burn marks on the walls and broken furniture. She found the station to be completely abandoned with the exception of Maher and two of his fellow police officers. However, the police in the station were out of uniform and did not seem to be on duty.

According to Maher the crowd had used rocks and Molotov Cocktails to break the toilets, sinks and file cabinets of the police station. The rioters attempted to steal the files kept in the office, however all sensitive files had already been removed from their cabinets in anticipation of any violence.

The attack occurred between midnight and 1 AM yesterday, during Tunisia’s second night of curfew. The government imposed the curfew on Tuesday in response to a series of protests that have been sweeping through Tunisia. The destruction of the police station in Kram is the latest of the recent clashes between civilians and the security forces to come to light.

According to the police, the perpetrators consisted of a group of about 100 young men in their twenties. Maher referred to the young men as “layabouts” and stated that the attack had absolutely nothing to do with the Salafists recently dominating Tunisia’s news.

According to Maher, there were five or six police officers present at the time of the assault. However, Maher was not among them and did not provide any information about the police’s reaction to protesters. The spokesman of the ministry of the interior, Khaled Tarrouche, was unavailable to comment. But he stated yesterday that police would be authorized to use live ammunition if they felt their lives were threatened.

Maher stated that the attack is undergoing investigation by the ministry of the interior, but he was unable to give any details about whether or not protesters had been arrested or injured.