The African Union (AU) chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat on Tuesday said that he is closely monitoring the situation in Tunisia, reported CGTN Africa.
In a statement on Tuesday, Faki said that he had a telephonic conversation with Tunisia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the political developments in the country.
Last week, the government’s move to speed up vaccination by opening it for all above 18 years resulted in stampedes and violent incidents at some of the vaccination centers. Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi sacked Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi, but public anger refused to subside.
Violent protests erupted in several Tunisian provinces on Sunday as people expressed anger at the deteriorating health, economic and social situations in the country, calling for the departure of the government and the dissolution of the parliament.
Following the protests, President Kais Saied sacked Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, and suspended parliament indefinitely. He also removed Minister of Defense Ibrahim Bartaji and Minister to the Head of Government in charge of the civil service and acting Minister of Justice Hasna Ben Slimane.
The AU chairman called for the restoration of normalcy in Tunisia. He expressed the commitment of the African Union Commission to the strict respect of the Tunisian constitution, the necessary maintenance of peace, and the rejection of all forms of violence.
Faki appealed to Tunisian leaders to consider the promotion of political dialogue to resolve the problems at hand, and the need to respond to the legitimate aspirations of the Tunisian people, especially its youth.
Tunisia, a country with a population of around 12 million, is facing a third wave of infections where the health system is already crowded. The country has already reported close to 19,000 COVID-19 deaths. The situation is compounded by the slow pace of the vaccination campaign.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Tunisia’s daily covid-19 death tally is the highest in the African continent.
