A quick update. Al-Jazeera and AFP are reporting that at least 20 people have died in the clashes in two Tunisian cities during the last 24 hours.
Citing trade union sources, al-Jazeera says six were killed in Thala and a further 14 elsewhere in the Kasserine region.
The Tunisian Kalima website says more than 50 have died, including 22 in Kasserine, 16 in Thala, eight in Reguab, two in Meknassi and one in Feriana.
The Tunisian regime initially claimed only two people died. This later increased to five and it is now admitting to eight.
The nawaat website has posted a video which it says shows scenes in the hospital at Thala.
We now have the unprecedented situation of major civil disturbances in two neighbouring Arab countries, both of them arising for similar reasons. (For the latest developments, see below.)
On its own, the trouble in Algeria might not be a particular cause for concern (or celebration, depending on how you look at it). Algeria, after all, has witnessed plenty of violent strife in the past and I wouldn't yet go so far as to characterise the events there (unlike those in Tunisia) as a popular uprising against the regime.
But with large-scale riots and demonstrations now happening simultaneously in two countries side by side, we are moving into uncharted territory. There are signs that the protests in both countries are starting to inspire and sustain those in the other – which could make them far more difficult for the authorities to quell.
It's all looking much more serious than a week ago. Anything could happen now. And maybe it will.
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