Meriem Belhiba

Within 48 hours in January, the town recorded nearly 300 millimetres of rainfall, roughly three-quarters of its annual average.

The measures were first introduced after a suicide bombing on 24 November 2015 that targeted a bus carrying members of the presidential guard remains in force.

Roughly 40 defendants—opposition leaders, activists, lawyers, businesspeople—face sentences ranging from 10 to 45 years.

The UGTT is not simply another civil society organisation facing pressure. Since independence, the union has served as a stabilising mechanism and negotiator.