[Magharebia] Fighting erupted Monday (November 12th) in Monastir between salafists and members of the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET).The clashes broke out when Islamist hardliners surrounded the Monastir University canteen to demand separate dining rooms for female and male students.
"There were skirmishes between two groups of students who differ in terms of ideological orientations," explained Hammadi Essafi, the university restaurant manager in Skanes. "We are still negotiating with both groups to resolve the problem."
According to a security report, the violence was triggered when the salafists observed a female student having lunch with a male peer.
"The violence that ensued between the two groups necessitated the intervention of the security forces to break it up," the campus police report said.
The incident sparked chaos and panic, but students eventually forced the salafists to back off.
The salafists vowed to continue their mission toward gender segregation and the implementation of Islamic law in all Tunisian universities.
"Gender segregation at the University of Monastir restaurant became a revolutionary and urgent demand and a priority for the salafists!" journalist Makki Helal said. "I cannot believe those who say that the salafists are just scarecrows and that their danger is not real."