Tunisian President Visits Mazzouna After School Tragedy, Vows Justice and Development

Watan-Tunisian President Kais Saied visited the town of Mazzouna in Sidi Bouzid early Friday morning, praising local residents for what he called “sweeping away the traitors and collaborators.”

Local activists shared videos of Saied meeting with citizens, in which he lauded “the unity between residents and security forces,” adding:“We came today to show the world how the people of Mazzouna—and Tunisians as a whole—swept away traitors and united with the security forces.”

Saied also pledged to restore dignity to the town’s residents and to launch developmental projects in the area. His visit came in response to a call by the people of Mazzouna, who asked him to visit and offer condolences to the families of the victims of the “Wall Martyrs” tragedy, as well as to address long-standing neglect and underdevelopment in the region.

Calm has returned to Mazzouna after days of unrest since Monday, triggered by the death of three students when a school wall collapsed. The protests included clashes between demonstrators and police.

Media sources confirmed the withdrawal of security forces from the town, and some officers reportedly joined a community-led street-cleaning initiative.

The principal of the school, Mohamed Kathiri, was released after being detained for several days in connection to the incident.

Fadi Al-Fraihi, a representative of the Intersection for Rights and Freedoms Association, called for accountability for police officers accused of “assaulting protesters over the past three days, using tear gas against them, and raiding homes.”

He also highlighted attacks on journalists by the police, who attempted to prevent them from documenting violations in an effort to “silence the media and prevent the voice of Mazzouna’s people from being heard—contrary to the principles of press freedom, expression, and human rights guaranteed by the constitution and international conventions.”