In Pics: Ten years on, anger grows in Tunisian town where 'Arab Spring' began

SUMMARY

By ReutersDec 16, 2020 5:20:50 PM IST (Published)

Ten years ago, a fruit seller set himself ablaze in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid after an altercation with a policewoman about where he had put his cart. Word of Mohammed Bouazizi's fatal act of defiance quickly spread, sparking nationwide protests that eventually toppled Tunisia's long-serving leader and helped inspire similar uprisings across the region - the so-called "Arab Spring". (REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail/File Photo)

Tunisia's revolution spread. In Egypt the crowds forced Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years as president. Uprisings shook Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen. Hope for a new democratic future soon turned to bloodshed, particularly in Syria, Yemen and Libya, where civil wars pulled in major powers fearful their regional foes would gain an advantage.(REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo)

Tunisians are now free to choose their leaders and can publicly criticise the state. Yet for all the chaos they have been through, many people look back on the events of 2010 and regret that their dreams remain unfulfilled. (REUTERS/Angus McDowall)

Though Tunisia's path to democracy has been far smoother, its economy has deteriorated and political leaders appear paralysed. (REUTERS/Suhaib Salem)

Protests have flared again in recent weeks across Tunisia's poorer southern towns against joblessness, poor state services, inequality and shortages. The scramble to get enough cooking gas to provide for families underlines the hardships ordinary people face in a country where the economy has stagnated, leaving the public as angry as it was a decade ago. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo)

Bigger demonstrations may take place in Tunisia on Thursday, the anniversary of Bouazizi's self-immolation after his fruit cart was confiscated when he refused to move off an unlicensed pitch. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo)