Phosphate production in Tunisia’s Metaloui and Mdhila resumed on Wednesday and shipments restarted after protesters agreed to temporarily end their sit-in over job demands, officials and protesters told Reuters.
The Metaloui and Mdhila plants, which produce around 80 percent of Tunisia’s phosphate, have been closed by weeks of protests by local youths demanding employment and economic opportunities. Other plants in the south of the country have also been affected.
But the deal remains fragile after protesters gave the government a week to negotiate their demands or else will halt production again.
“Production restarted at Metaloui and Mdhila the main production regions after the ending of the sit-in by youths,” Ali Houchati, a spokesman for Phosphate Gafsa said. “Trucks have started to transport phosphate again.”
TunisianMonitorOnline (Reuters)
