Tunisia violence despite curfew

Protesters in the Ettadhamen suburb of Tunis, Tunisia (12 Jan 2011)Clashes began in the Ettadhamen suburb of Tunis on Wednesday afternoon
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There are reports of further trouble overnight in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis, despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

Hundreds of youths took to the streets in various districts in the north of the city, Spanish agency Efe reports.

According to Reuters news agency, witnesses say one man was shot dead in the clashes with the police.

Officials say at least 23 people have died since nationwide unrest began last month over rising food and fuel prices, high unemployment and corruption.

Human rights and trade union activists believe the number of dead to be at least 50.

Witnesses say the man was killed in the Ettadhamen suburb of the city, where another resident told AFP news agency the protest could be heard throughout the night.

Firemen were attempting to put out fires on Thursday morning following the trouble, the agency reports.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali dismissed his interior minister in an attempt to stem the unrest.

Rafik Belhaj Kacem had been responsible for the police force, which many people say has used excessive force against protesters.

Violence in Tunis broke out on Wednesday afternoon, as protesters threw stones and police responded with volleys of tear gas.

It was the first time in weeks of unrest that the violence had reached the capital.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Mexico updates drug war figures

Police in Acapulco on 8 January 2011More than 500 people died in confrontations between security forces and drug gangs
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The Mexican government has released new figures suggesting that 34,612 people have been killed in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon took office four years ago.

The new figure includes civilians and members of the security forces.

Previous reports only listed those with ties to drug gangs, officials said.

President Calderon denounced the “extreme violence” which had made 2010 the deadliest year in recent Mexican history.

The president told a meeting of anti-crime groups that his government “was aware that it was going through a very difficult time on security issues”.

Government security spokesman Alejandro Poire said 15,273 people had been killed in drug-related violence last year.

He said the bulk of the killings had been carried out in the three northern states of Chihuahua, Tamaulipas and Sinaloa.

Drug-related killings 2006-201030,913 executed3,153 killed in rival gang clashes546 killed in clashes with the security forces

Other states, he explained, had been virtually untouched by the violence, with Yucatan and Tlaxcala registering fewer than 10 crime-related murders in 2010.

Mr Poire said the northern states were particularly badly hit because they were at the centre of a battle between rival drug gangs.

He said the murder rate had dropped by 10% in the fourth quarter of the year, but that there was no way of telling whether the trend would continue in 2011.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.