Tunisia president orders armed force to protect oil-rich zones

A Tunisian rights NGO told the presidency in charge of  potentially involving the army in social conflict.

The NGO made the attestation after President Beji Caid Essebsi on requested the armed force to secure the nation's phosphate mines and oilfields from protest movements which he said "could upset production". 

At a question and answer session, Abderrahman Hedhili, leader of the Tunisian Discussion for Monetary and Social Rights, cautioned that the president's activities could prompt "critical results". 

Essebsi's request to the armed force, Hedhili stated, could serve to "fuel past social pressures" in Tunisia. 

Because of late protest in the nation's south, Essebsi had announced that the armed force was prepared "to protect oil-rich parts of the nation". 

"I know it is a genuine choice," he said. "However, it's one that must be taken." 

Belhassan al-Waslati, a Defense Ministry spokesman, as far as it matters for him, said that the armed force was "focused on actualizing the president's instruction". 

Previous weeks have seen many youthful Tunisians organize sit-ins close to the nation's southern oilfields to request more openings for work and ventured up advancement of the oil-rich Tataouine area.