ALGIERS, Jan 16, 2011 (AFP) - A jobless man was in serious condition Sunday after he set himself on fire in a northeast Algerian town bordering strife-torn Tunisia to protest the mayor's refusal to meet him over jobs and housing, a hospital official said.
It was the latest in a spate of attempted public suicides in Algeria in apparent copycat replays of last month's self-immolation of a 26-year-old graduate in Tunisia which triggered a popular revolt and the ouster of that country's autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Mohcin Bouterfif, 37, set himself alight Saturday in front of the town hall in Tebessa, where he had requested a meeting with its mayor to appeal for a job and housing, the official said.
"He is currently in the intensive care unit. He is in serious condition," a doctor at Annaba hospital told AFP.
Bouterfif was part of a group of 20 youths who had gathered in front of the townhall to protest the mayor's refusal to meet them, according to residents.
The father of a young girl wanted to "denounce the town leaders' scornful attitude towards him," they said.
The head of the municipal assembly was subsequently relieved of his functions by the Tebessa governor, they added.
Separately, a 27-year old man also torched himself Friday evening in front of a police station in Jijel outside of Algiers, according to the daily El Watan, although the reasons for his action were unclear.
The victim, Said. H, appeared at the police station with his chest and upper body in flames, but police rapidly put out the fire with an extinguisher, it said. The man, who suffered second-degree burns, was admitted to a hospital.
Elsewhere, a man in his forties also set himself ablaze in Bordj Menaiel in the Boumerdes region near the Algerian capital, according to the El Watan.
Desperate over not being listed to receive housing benefits, the father of six doused himself with gasoline and set it alight, but a town official intrervened to stop the fire, the daily said.
The man was hospitalised but his life is not in danger, it added.
Tunisia has been hit by sinialr attempted suicides since December 17, when 26-year old university graduate Mohamed Bouaziz torched himself after he was prevented by police from selling fruit and vegetables to make a living.
That sparked a popular revolt that forced Ben Ali to flee and seek refuge in Saudi Arabia after 23 years in poiwr.
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Copyright AFP 2011.
