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Clashes broke out for a third consecutive night on Sunday in several Tunisian cities, pitting stone-throwing youths against security forces despite a tight lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Tunisian authorities said on Monday that more than 600 people had been arrested during consecutive nights of disturbances in the capital and other cities.

The unrest comes amid a nationwide anti-coronavirus lockdown imposed since Thursday – a decade to the day since dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled from power.

In the working-class neighbourhood of Ettadhamen, on the edge of the capital Tunis, young men hurled rocks at riot police who responded with volleys of tear gas. There were no political slogans to be heard.

“These aren’t protests, it’s young people who are coming from nearby neighbourhoods to rob and entertain themselves,” said 26-year-old resident Oussama.

“A protest would be during the day, faces visible,” he said.-France24.