TUNIS – Tunisia’s new interim government should “urgently” investigate killings of protesters by security forces earlier this month under the country’s ousted regime, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday. “Things are moving fast in Tunisia, but finding out who opened fire on demonstrators and why can’t wait,” Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director for the watchdog, told reporters in Tunis.
“The units and commanders responsible for these apparently unlawful killings should be identified and held accountable,” he said. The group said it had found evidence of at least 21 people killed with live ammunition earlier this month in the cities of Kasserine and Tala. It said it had not yet investigated killings in other parts of Tunisia.
A bloody crackdown by president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali across the country failed to stem a wave of protests against his regime, which began last month and ultimately led to his ouster on January 14 after 23 years in power. Tunisia’s caretaker government said earlier that 78 people were killed in total, while the United Nations said at least 100 people had lost their lives, including dozens of prisoners in a riot after Ben Ali’s downfall.
Killings have also been reported in the towns of Menzel Bouzaiane, Douz, Regueb, Bizerte, Zarzis and in the capital Tunis. Human Rights Watch visited Kasserine and Tala between January 19 and 22.
