Man in Tunisia dies after self-immolation Boris Johnson called for investigation over alleged favouritism

About a decade after a man set himself on fire in Tunisia, sparking mass protests and political unrest there, another Tunisian set himself on fire. The man later died in hospital, local residents and the local radio station Mosaique FM report on Sunday.

Accordingly, the man allegedly set himself on fire in front of a government building in Nabeul in the northeast of the country on Saturday evening. A video on the internet shows him burning on the side of the road and several men trying to extinguish the flames on his upper body.

The background to his suicide was initially unclear. Mosaique FM reported that the father of three recently lost his job. Tunisia is in the worst economic crisis in decades. The population is struggling with rising prices, food shortages and high unemployment.

In 2010, greengrocer Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Tunisia out of desperation over his plight. His death sparked massive protests in the country and the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. The protests also spread to other countries in the Arab world and toppled several heads of state. Tunisia was sometimes considered the only country in the region to have made the transition to democracy. Incumbent President Kais Saied has since expanded his power considerably, and critics fear a return to autocratic rule. (sda/dpa)