Calm returns to Tunisia, and the army is deploying its units in front of public installations and sovereign headquarters

Calm has returned to neighborhoods in several Tunisian governorates after nightly confrontations and hit-and-run operations between security forces and groups of youths whom the security authorities described as saboteurs.

The spokesman for the Tunisian Ministry of Defense, Mohamed Zakri, confirmed the deployment of Tunisian army units in front of public facilities and the headquarters of the sovereignty in the governorates of Sousse, Siliana, Bizerte and Kasserine, in anticipation of riots that might affect these facilities.

The spokesman explained that the army forces are about to participate in joint patrols with security forces throughout the country.

Over the past few days, several areas in Tunisia have witnessed clashes between the security forces and a number of citizens, and the confrontation has expanded to include neighborhoods in the city of Kasserine, Jalameh in the governorate of Sidi Bouzid (center-west) and the city of Beja (north).

Since last Sunday night, the security authorities have arrested more than 200 young people, most of them minors, while a number of injuries were recorded among the security forces, according to the spokesman for the Tunisian Interior.

The Tunisian Ministry of Interior said that dozens of those it described as "deviants who set fire to rubber tires and closed some roads" were arrested, with the aim of committing what it described as "criminal acts that included the looting of public and private property," noting that many of those who participated in these events were minors.

There were no political slogans or social demands raised during these violent protests, which included the looting of some shops and the attempt to storm some banks, but they came in light of political and social tensions and an economic crisis that raised the unemployment rate among young people to about 30%.

According to what was circulated on social media, the security forces seized money, drugs, white weapons and Molotov cocktails.

The Anadolu news agency quoted Tunisian Interior Ministry spokesman Khaled Al-Hayouni as saying that the judiciary is the one that determines whether there are political motives behind the recent unrest.

No political party has announced its support for these moves, which come after protests demanding jobs and the fair distribution of wealth in several regions, which led to disruption of oil and phosphate production and domestic gas distribution.