Tunisia school attacked as anti-govt protests spread

TUNIS / Reuters

A Jewish school on a Tunisian island was attacked as police battled violent unrest elsewhere in the country, arresting more than 200 people, witnesses and the interior ministry said. Petrol bombs thrown at the school on the tourist resort island of Djerba, home to an ancient Jewish community, caused some damage but no injuries, the head of the local Jewish community, Perez Trabelsi, told Reuters on Wednesday.
There were no protests in Djerba but locals said the assailants had exploited the fact that there was a reduced security presence as police were busy combating anti-government protests elsewhere in the North African state. “Unknown people took the opportunity of the protests and threw Molotov cocktails into the lobby of a Jewish religious school in Djerba,” Trabelsi said.
At the time of the attack, violent clashes were raging in some 20 Tunisian cities as people protested against rising prices and new taxes imposed by on January 1. About 50 policemen were wounded in the clashes, said Interior Ministry spokesman Khelifa Chibani.