A Tunisian youth set himself on fire - Saturday - in the center of the capital, causing him serious burns, in an accident that is the second of its kind in about a week.

Video clips published by local media on social media documented the moment the young man set his body on fire, before security forces and citizens intervened in an attempt to save him, before he was transferred to a hospital specialized in treating serious burns in the city of Ben Arous (south of the capital, Tunis).

A civil protection spokesman told AFP that the 35-year-old victim had burns all over his body, without explaining his motives.

For its part, Anatolia News Agency quoted a source at the Burns Hospital in the city of Ben Arous that the injured person is in serious condition, as he suffered third-degree burns.

The incident reminds Tunisians of the image of the young Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire on December 17, 2010 in protest against his situation, which was the spark that ignited the "Jasmine Revolution."

The young man, Naji Al-Hafian, who was wounded by the revolution in Tunisia, died last Saturday after setting himself on fire in a suburb of the capital in protest of his neglect by the authorities, according to his family.