Self-immolations across north Africa follow suicide in Tunisia

After death of Muhammed Bouazizi, aggrieved citizens set themselves on fire in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania

 

guardian.co.uk, Sam Jones and agencies, Monday 17 January 2011 

Cairo's Munira hospital, where a man who set himself alight outside the Egyptian
capital's parliament is being treated. Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

A spate of self-immolations in north Africa appears to have followed the suicide that helped bring down the Tunisian president last week.

An Egyptian, a Mauritanian and at least four Algerians have set themselves alight over the past five days as a means of protesting against their governments.

Demonstrations that brought down the Tunisian president, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, followed the death of Muhammed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old vegetable seller who set himself on fire on 17 December after police seized his cart. Bouazizi died from his burns earlier this month, becoming a martyr to students and unemployed people protesting against poor living conditions.

An Egyptian who set himself on fire today is said to have done so to highlight poor living standards. A witness working at the parliament building in central Cairo said the man doused himself with fuel and lit it when people approached. The flames were put out and he was taken to hospital, the witness added.

An interior ministry source said the man owned a small restaurant and was protesting about his poor living standards. Another security source said his injuries were mainly to his hands and face, although the severity of the burns was not immediately clear.

The independent al-Masry al-Youm newspaper quoted one witness as saying the man chanted slogans against the state security apparatus before setting himself on fire.

A Cairo hospital source said a man had been admitted with burns.

There have been violent demonstrations against high food prices and unemployment in several Algerian cities over recent weeks, in parallel with the demonstrations that brought down Ben Ali on Friday. Protesters in neighbouring countries made clear they see his fall – the first time in generations an Arab leader has been toppled by public protests – as a model in a region dominated by autocratic regimes.

In Algeria, a man named as Senouci Touat doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire in Mostaganem, a city west of Algiers, the el-Watan and el-Khabar newspapers reported. His life was not in danger.

In Tebessa province, Mohsen Bouterfif died on Saturday three days after setting himself on fire when a town mayor failed to secure him a house.

And in Bordj Menaiel, a town in Boumerdès province, 26-year-old Aouichia Mohamed set himself on fire on Wednesday. The fourth incident took place in the town of Jijel, newspapers said.

Official sources say two people were killed and scores injured during recent riots in Algeria. To calm the protests, the government has cut the cost of sugar and cooking oil.

Police in Mauritania, which borders Algeria, said today that a man had set himself alight outside the presidential palace.

The man, described as a 40-year-old entrepreneur from a wealthy family, was apparently protesting against the government's alleged mistreatment of his tribe.

Witnesses said he doused himself in petrol while sitting in his locked car and set himself alight before security forces and passers-by broke the car windows to remove him. He was taken to hospital.

Analysts, opposition figures and citizens believe the Tunisian revolt could prove contagious, with many north Africans frustrated by soaring prices, poverty, high unemployment, a bulging population and systems of rule that ignore them.