In the midst of a cold spell, previously unpublished images in Tunisia of multiple robberies of domestic gas transporters, as well as those of endless queues to obtain a refill of gas cylinders, or even fights, are making the rounds on the web and shock public opinion.
Today Wednesday, January 22, 2025, visibly anxious to calm this anxiety-provoking climate, the president of the Chamber of distributors of domestic gas cylinders, Mohamed Mnif, announced that Tunisia had received three ships of imported liquefied domestic gas at the end last week.
The same official, however, recognized that Greater Tunis, like many other regions of the country, suffers from a serious lack of domestic gas cylinders, at a time when voices are being raised to denounce the lack of government policy of anticipation of this type of crisis at this time of year, which is known for its peaks in gas consumption. According to Mnif, this shortage results in this case from the four-day shutdown of a filling center located in the capital, a center which supplies many retailers. This shutdown would have led to significant cascading distribution problems.
He indicated that although Tunisia had recently received ships of liquefied petroleum gas, “ a delay is necessary to transport this gas to the filling centers, fill the cylinders and deliver them “. If this explains the persistence of the severe shortage in several regions, despite daily deliveries, these comments have not calmed part of the furious public opinion, particularly against the comments made in certain media regarding the fact that gas “ is after all not a vital energy, that wood fire is an alternative and that nothing can justify the scenes of looting observed recently ».
-Mohamed Mnif also affirmed that the trucks transporting gas “ must wait in front of the filling centers, which are operating at full capacity to compensate for the shortage. The current cold snap is worsening the crisis, making supplies insufficient to meet demand. Additionally, a filling center in the capital suspended operations for four days due to a disruption in liquefied gas supplies ».
Opening of a judicial investigation
Yesterday Tuesday, we learned that the prosecution at the Sousse 2 first instance court authorized the opening of an investigation following the broadcast of a video sequence on the pages of social networks documenting an attempted robbery of a large truck loaded with domestic gas cylinders by people in cars and motorcycles. The truck was stopped by the group of individuals, who decided to seize its load, on the road linking the towns of Akouda and Kalaa Sghira.
The National Security Station was tasked with investigating and arresting the owner of the car, according to a media statement by the court’s official spokesperson, Hajer Aish. She added that the public prosecutor issued an arrest warrant against the person concerned on January 20 and referred him to the criminal chamber of the court of first instance of Sousse 2, with a view to prosecuting him for “deliberate attack against traffic and obstruction of freedom of work”.
