STRIKES have paralysed the governorate of Tataouine in southern Tunisia once again, with protesters demanding the implementation of a 2017 deal over jobs and investment in the oil-rich region.

Fears of a return to the unrest that crippled the country last month have returned with a shutdown affecting all government institutions in the region.

The dispute erupted again after authorities reneged on a deal struck last month which brought an end to strike action over jobs and poverty.

Tunisian General Labour Union spokesman Salem Bounhas said that strikes had also halted production in the region’s energy facilities.

He said as the country went on strike last week: “Today we went on an open general strike that included all public-sector institutions and the public service.

“Production will be cut off in all the desert oil and gas fields until the government responds to the demands of the region.”

Unions are angry over the government’s refusal to implement the El Kamour Agreement struck in 2017, which brought an end to a two-month sit-in protest.

The deal calls for 1,500 jobs in oil companies, a budget of 80 million dinars (£26m) for a regional development fund and another 3,000 jobs in environmental projects.

Unions are demanding a share of the country’s energy wealth, with the region one of the poorest in Tunisia despite producing around 40 per cent of the country’s oil.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed’s government is struggling to push economic reforms and consolidate Tunisia’s democracy six years after a revolt ended the autocratic rule of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

Last week government measures for Tataouine, which included the creation of 500 jobs for local people until the end of the year, were rejected.