"More than 200 people have been hospitalised in recent weeks with respiratory issues blamed on a local chemical plant. A general strike and tens of thousands of protesters have brought the southern Tunisian city of Gabes to a standstill as anger intensifies over a state-run chemical plant that residents blame for a pollution crisis. Shops, markets, schools, and cafes shut down in the general strike, halting economic activity in coastal Gabes on Tuesday in response to a call by the powerful UGTT labour union."
"Crowds held up banners condemning the environmental pollution that has been caused by the CGT phosphate plant for years and that critics say now threatens the health of thousands of residents. Protesters marched through the city chanting slogans such as Gabes wants to live and dismantle the polluting units. Everything is closed in Gabes, said Saoussen Nouisser, the local representative of UGTT. We're all angry at the catastrophic environmental situation in our marginalised city."
More than 200 people have been hospitalised recently with respiratory issues attributed to emissions from a local state-run chemical plant. Tens of thousands of residents joined a general strike called by the UGTT, closing shops, markets, schools and cafes across coastal Gabes and halting economic activity. Protesters held banners condemning long-standing pollution from the CGT phosphate plant and marched demanding its immediate shutdown, chanting slogans such as 'Gabes wants to live' and 'dismantle the polluting units'. President Kais Saied described the crisis as an 'environmental assassination' and blamed previous administrations for widespread cancer and ecosystem destruction. Union leaders warned of further escalation.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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