Tunisia Imposes Nationwide Curfew

The Tunisian government on Friday declared a nationwide curfew after clashes between police and demonstrators protesting high unemployment rates. The government, led by the democratically elected President Beji Caid Essebsi, is attempting to prevent the destruction of public and private property, the interior ministry said. The country’s decision comes as the fifth anniversary of the Arab Spring nears; in 2011, similar complaints over a lack of jobs prompted protests that caused the country’s authoritarian president to flee, thus paving the way for a more democratic political system.