Tunis/Tunisia — Clashes continued on Tuesday afternoon between police and local residents in Sbeïtla (governorate of Kasserine) after a 24-year-old man was shot dead.

The clashes broke out after the police raided an illegal gambling den, Ahmed Al-Hamdi, the first delegate of Sbeitla, told TAP.

He added that the owner of the premises called his neighbours to the rescue and attacked the security units with shotguns, who had to respond by using tear gas.

The young Ahmed Souli, who was nearby, was shot and died of his injuries, according to witnesses who accused the police of killing the 24-year-old in the El Maahed housing estate, where exchanges of gunfire were heard.

The body was taken to Kasserine regional hospital for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, said Abdelghani Chaabani, Regional Health Director.

According to the Sbeitla delegate, several security units have been deployed in the region to restore calm and protect public and private establishments, especially as some young people ransacked the municipal depot after the incident and stole some motorbikes.