[Al Ahram] Four volatile regions of Tunisia -- including the part of the country where the Arab Spring began -- went on strike on Thursday, amid rising tensions with the country's ruling Islamist party.As well as Sidi Bouzid, where the uprising started two years ago that unseated former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and was emulated in other Arab countries, the strike was followed in the regions of Kasserine, Gafsa and Sfax, whose eponymous capital is Tunisia's second city.
The closure of the main private and public companies in those areas was called by regional branches of the country's main labour group, the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT). Demonstrations were expected later in the day.
Only small shops and cafes were open for business.
Thursday's strike was seen as a prelude to the nationwide general strike called for December 13 by the UGTT to denounce an attack on its headquarters earlier this week that it says was carried out by Islamist Islamic fascisti close to the Ennada ruling party.