The peacekeepers in Gabès are closing down the chemical compound road
Residents of Gabès' Peace Bank are cutting off the road to the chemical complex by lighting tires in protest at toxic gas leaks that have caused mass choking.
A number of residents in the peaceful region of Gabès State closed today the main road leading to the industrial area of the chemical complex, and lit rubber tires to block traffic. This field move came in protest of the continued emissions and repeated leaks of chemical gases emitted from phosphate conversion units at the industrial facility.
The protest coincided with the recording of mass strangulation cases in the region, with dozens of students from the high school in Peace Beach and residents from the towns of Peace Beach and Ghannouch being transferred to the university hospital and health centers for emergency services. People's fears about continued industrial pollution and its direct effects on their health and public safety have increased, prompting them to take to the streets.
Protesters demanded a final end to chemical pollution sources and immediate action to protect the population, calling for judicial investigations to determine the causes of the recent gas leaks and accountability of those responsible. In return, security forces launched arrest and prosecution campaigns against a number of young people involved in the region's nightly protests against environmental developments.
The origins of the crisis go back to the establishment of the chemical complex in Gabès during the 1970s, where it housed dozens of units dedicated to converting phosphate into sulfuric acid and phosphorus and fertilizer manufacturing, which turned the area into a permanent focal point for environmental movements. Although an official government decision was issued in June 2017 deciding to dismantle polluted units and move them outside residential areas, the decision has remained unenforceable, while residents are based on Section 47 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to a healthy environment.
The government is proposing an alternative plan focused on rehabilitating and maintaining decaying industrial units to reduce the volume of greenhouse gas emissions emitted from them, at a time when the population and trade union organizations are sticking to the immediate suspension of the activity of suffocating units and completing final facilities transportation procedures.
