Toll in Tunisian unrest rises to 23

PARIS - At least 23 people have died so far in the street violence in Tunisia amid ongoing protests over joblessness, the French daily Le Monde reported.

Le Monde said that the victims had died of gunshot wounds and that they had been identified by name. The Tunisian government Saturday evening had put the number of dead at 14.

Unions were warning that the death toll could rise further as a number of people had been seriously wounded and were in critical condition.

The report follows a weekend of unrest chiefly in the central part of the country, in such cities as Kessarine, Tala and Regueb.

The political opposition has accused the government of contributing to the escalation of violence by sending in the army.

The unrest was triggered after the fatal self-immolation in mid-December of an unemployed university graduate who was eking out a living selling vegetables on the street.

Since then, at least four more people, including two 17-year-olds and an unemployed college graduate have also set themselves on fire, with two of them dying.