Arrests after rampage in Tunisia

Police have arrested about 15 people after hardline Islamists went on the rampage, torching police stations and attacking bars selling alcohol in Tunisian towns, the interior ministry said yesterday.

Police used tear gas to stop gangs of ultra-conservative Salafists, some armed with clubs and swords, who went on the attack in the northwestern towns of Jendouba and Ghardimaou on Saturday.

“About 15 people have been arrested and calm has been restored,” interior minstry spokesman Khaled Tarrouche said, adding that security reinforcements had been brought into the region.

The TAP news agency said national army units had been deployed after the violence to protect public buildings.

“The law will be applied. These incidents are dangerous and will be dealt with in the appropriate manner,” secretary of state for the interior Said Mechichi told TAP.

Last week the country’s Justice Minister Noureddine Bhiri threatened to punish those who use violence to impose their views on others after Salafists forced a number of bars to close.