BURKINA FASO - EXCLUSIVE: These military ready to take up arms if Compaore does not honor its commitments

AFP - Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, whose country has been faced with mutinies of soldiers, has assigned the Ministry of Defence in the new government, whose composition was announced Thursday night, according to decrees read on state television RTB.

"The president of the (Burkina Faso) Faso, supreme commander of armed, took office as Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs," reads one of the decrees.

This position is particularly sensitive in the present context, the regime of President Compaore, a soldier who seized power in a coup in 1987, facing more than a month to the mutinies of soldiers who received up his own personal guard.

These riots occurred in parallel with other protest movements of most of society in Burkina Faso which began in late February.

Fifteen new ministers enter this government comprises 29 ministers (against 38 previously), all members of the ruling party or the presidential movement.This is the team most ressérée history of Burkina Faso.

Djibril Bassolé, former joint mediator of the UN and African Union (AU) for Darfur (Sudan), was appointed foreign minister.

Economy and finance back to Lucien Marie-Noel Bembamba, brother-in-chief of the State, Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Security, Jerome Bougouma, another close to Blaise Compaore.

The new team includes three women appointed to the Ministries of National Education, Social Action and Promotion of Women.

This government was formed by the new Prime Minister Luc Adolphe Tiao, a journalist by training and former ambassador to Burkina Paris, appointed Monday to replace Tertius Zongo, who was fired after a mutiny within the leader's own presidential guard of State, April 14.

Mr.Compaore had also replaced the main army officials, including Chief of Staff.

The new team of faithful head of state, while many observers had expected an opening to members of civil society and opposition, will have to try to stem a wave of protest unprecedented in history of the country.

Since late February, all segments of the population, youth, students, judges, soldiers, traders, expressed with varying degrees of violence across the country against Compaore's regime and the high cost of living while most of the 16 million Burkinabe live with about 1.5 euro per day.

Balance: At least six deaths, injuries, looting, damage to property.

A year after the oil spill in Louisiana, the risk is always present

A year after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, oil has been dispersed and enhanced security, but the United States is not safe from another disaster, told AFP that the admiral had led the government's efforts against the oil spill.

"We can never prevent a disaster from taking place here," said retired Admiral Thad Allen, who has worked on various oil spills since the 80s and led relief operations after the explosion of the oil platform , April 20, 2010, off the coast of Louisiana.

The accident had caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history.BP, operator of the platform, could not prevent the spill of some 4.9 million barrels of crude in the Gulf of Mexico.

"And we're still cleaning," said Mr. Allen told AFP. "But the quantities are much smaller than those we have known, limited mostly to swampy areas," upsetting the nesting birds in the reeds still polluted the coast of the Southeast, according to Mr.Allen.

Over 1,700 km of wetlands and beaches of the Gulf have been polluted and more than 6,000 birds died, according to the American Council for the Defence of natural resources, while 2,000 people are still working to clean the first wetlands to be affected by oil spill.

The U.S. government said at the time a moratorium on offshore drilling and a few months later, the Department of the Interior has tightened rules against companies wanting to acquire a drilling permit.

"This is obviously an improvement over the previous situation, but we can never prevent such an event happen," he said.

Mr.Allen retired in June but stayed on the scene to carry out the plan of government support Obama until the wellbore BP is declared "dead" in September.

"It was clear that this crisis would not be resolved quickly," says Allen, urging the U.S. not to repeat the mistakes of the oil spill from the Exxon Valdez, which had spilled 50,000 tons of oil Wed

"Two to three years after the Exxon Valdez, it has invested heavily in research and development against these risks," according to Thad Allen.

"And while we focus on tanker accidents, the industry has changed and went to drill deeper and deeper."

"We should not let that happen.We should focus on innovation and technological improvements to track changes in the industry, "says Allen.

NIGERIA - PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Goodluck Jonathan at the top of the partial results

AFP - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan took out a big lead Sunday in the presidential race, winning in at least 20 of the 36 states, and could win the first round in this election, whose effectiveness has been praised overall by observers.

The final results of the election on Saturday, known in 30 states, gave Mr. Jonathan winner in 20 states, while its main rival, former junta leader Muhammadu Buhari, won the votes in 9 states, and Nuhu Ribadu, who led the anti-corruption agency in Nigeria, was leading in the State.

Voting took place Saturday in a relative calm, with sporadic incidents that have not made a victim.Observers have generally welcomed the successful conduct of this election, which marks a positive break after a series of fraudulent elections.

"There is consensus that this is a new beginning, after irregularities in the 2007 presidential election," said Clement Nwankmo, coordinator of a local group of observers.

"The election was held in conditions even better" than as laws of April 9, already felt Saturday Slovene Alojz Peterle, head of the mission of the European Union.

The known results include those officially announced by Abuja those reported by the states themselves and, finally, those of local media and NGOs.

To win, the candidate with the most votes must also obtain at least a quarter of the votes in at least two-thirds of the 36 states or 24 states, in the words of the Constitution.

Nigeria, most populous country in Africa with 155 million inhabitants, has 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and that includes its surroundings.

Goodluck Jonathan, Vice-President became head of state in May 2010 following the death of his predecessor Umaru Yar'Adua (2007-2010), a Muslim, a Christian South, candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP).This party dominates the political scene and won the first round every presidential since 1999.

Elected vice president in 2007, Jonathan is a doctor of zoology 53 years old, known for constantly wearing the hat.

The country has had such a new electoral register containing the electronic fingerprints of more than 73 million subscribers. The previous list was riddled with ghost voters.

A coalition of local observers nevertheless reported irregularities concerning the voting of voters minors, the unusually high turnout and suspicions of ballot stuffing important.

Partial results of the election were also emerge a clear division between the Muslim north, which voted for the former military junta leader (1984-1985) Muhammadu Buhari, and the Christian south favor Goodluck Jonathan, waving the spectrum of religious and ethnic divisions.

Muhammadu Buhari was reported Saturday in "news of election fraud, ballot stuffing in some places."

Tensions have arisen in the North where voters were afraid of fraud from the camp of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) Goodluck Jonathan.

"There is good news and bad news in this presidential election. The good news is that we count actual votes and people are interested.The bad news is that the country is seriously divided, North against South, "said Chidi Odinkalu, the Open Society Justice Initiative.

Many analysts had warned against this scenario in a country as turbulent as Nigeria, which has more than 250 ethnic groups.

In the Muslim north, many believe that the reelection of Jonathan would be a breach of an unwritten rule in the People's Democratic Party (PDP), providing for rotation of power between North and South.

The final results of parliamentary April 9 have not yet been proclaimed. April 26 will be the elections of state governors and regional assemblies.

COTE D'IVOIRE: Firing missiles on Gbagbo's residence, his camp denounces assassination attempt

The residence of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan was partially destroyed Sunday by missiles fired from helicopters UNOCI and the French Licorne force, said a spokesman for the outgoing president of Ivory Coast. The helicopters fired on the tanks inside the presidential palace and outside the residence. He did not say if Laurent Gbagbo was on site at the time of the attack.

"French helicopters and the UN continued to fire on the residence of President Gbagbo, who is partially destroyed," said Reuters spokesman said, Ahoua Don Mello."There is a thick smoke but we have no other details on the damage caused. "

A resident of Cocody said he saw "a French helicopter fire four missiles in the area of ​​the residence shortly before 17:00 (GMT). A resident of the neighborhood Youpougon (West Shelf separated by the lagoon) has reported seeing "three Helicopters fire on the presidency.""For several minutes, black smoke rises into the sky towards the palace," he added.

A Reuters correspondent on the French military base of Port-Bouet, near the airport, fifteen kilometers from the residence of Gbagbo said he heard loud explosions echoed from the combat zone.He said that four helicopters, two of UNOCI and two of the Force Licorne, "led the attacks.

Gbagbo's camp talking about an assassination attempt, invokes UNOCI's mandate

France has "no other purpose" than to "assassinate" the outgoing president, Laurent Gbagbo, has responded to AFP Ahoua Don Mello, denouncing the shooting of the French Licorne force "on the residence of the Chief State ".

"France was looking for excuses to réattaquer, she has gathered," he said, referring in particular to an attack Saturday on the headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo, whose camp has denied being responsible.

"We take the operation to neutralize the heavy weapons wherever they are. UNOCI and Licorne have begun to target targets in several places, especially near the presidential palace and near the presidential residence," replied the spokesman of UNOCI, Hamadoun Toure. "Over the past three or four days, there was a use of heavy weapons against civilians and peacekeepers. The firing against the head of UNOCI continued, hence the need to react to protect civilians in accordance with our mandate, "he added.

The shootings have targeted as "camps where recognition exercises have identified heavy weapons," according to Mr Touré.

LIBYA: UN calls for end to hostilities in Misrata

The international community mobilized Thursday to help the people of Misrata, Libyan city besieged by the forces of Colonel Gaddafi that Washington once again called upon to relinquish power.

While the front line between rebel and loyalist forces has stabilized over the last week in the region of Brega (east), the town of Misrata, shelled relentlessly for a month and a half by the regular army, is now the object of attention.

Following in the footsteps of NATO, which has made Misrata his "number one priority," the UN has called for a cessation of hostilities around the city.

"The situation on the ground is critical for a large number of people who are in immediate need of food, water and emergency medical assistance," said assistant general secretary of the UN Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos. "The ability to leave the city is now a matter of life or death."

Rebels and humanitarian alert for weeks the international community to the plight of some 300,000 inhabitants of this city, several hundred were killed or wounded by fighting in their view.

The rebel military commander, Gen. Abdel Fattah Younes, was charged Tuesday in very harsh terms the Atlantic Alliance to "let people die of Misrata.More generally, he expressed his disappointment at the action of NATO, which took control of military operations last Thursday.

Piqued, NATO had promised to "do everything possible to protect civilians in Misrata," according to a UN mandate, but stressed that the Gaddafi regime was using human shields, making air strikes delicate.

To relieve the population will be replenished Misrata by the Sea by insurgents from Benghazi, 260 nautical miles (480 km) further east, had said Wednesday the French Minister of Defence Gerard Longuet.

"Previously, the reading of the embargo was that no boat could not supply any city," he said.

In the military port of Benghazi two fishing vessels and a tug waiting on Thursday that the swell to head back to Misrata calm, despite the firing forces of Tripoli, according to an AFP journalist on the spot.

"We sent the first ships a month ago. We are in contact with Misrata by satellite phone. They tell us what they need, if we find we can and organized convoys of ships," explains the AFP Captain Mustapha Omar.

"The first trips, we have not had any problems. Then we have repeatedly had to turn back because of the warships of Gaddafi.But the French navy has escorted two weeks ago, one of our boats, "said Capt. Omar." That we will never forget. "

The U.S. has meanwhile rejected curtly demands of Colonel Gaddafi, who in a long letter urged Washington to end the allied air strikes by the U.S. media.

"There is no mystery about what is expected to present Mr.Gaddafi, "retorted the chief diplomat Hillary Clinton at a press conference:" Earlier the bloodshed cease, and the better for everybody. "

Gaddafi should opt for a cease-fire, withdrawal of his troops, and "a decision must be made for its departure from power and (...) leaving Libya," she insisted.

The U.S. military had withdrawn Monday that fighter jets were involved in the international operation in Libya.It should now provide more than had intended to conduct air refueling missions as well as jamming and surveillance.

The next meeting of the Contact Group on Libya-established to ensure "political leadership" from the international civilian and military action in Libya, with Nato for "arm" - will be held April 13 in Doha, said Thursday the head of French diplomacy, Alain Juppe.

The Libyan regime, target since February 15 of a popular uprising that turned into a civil war, said he was ready for dialogue provided that the rebels disarm.

On Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim, accused British forces of bombing oil installations in the field of Al-Sarir (southeast). These strikes have killed three and wounded and material damage on the pipeline leading to the oil port of Tobruk controlled by the rebels, he said.

The previous day, a tanker had left the region of Tobruk with the first shipment of oil under rebel control since the airstrikes began mid-March.

In three days, three Boeing aircraft makes emergency landing in the U.S.

The United States experienced in the space of three days, three emergency landings of Boeing aircraft including the cabin atmosphere was no longer breathing without an oxygen mask, the latest being the one Sunday in New York of American Airlines aircraft.

A Boeing 757 that connected Boston (Massachusetts, North-East) to the island of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, had to land at JFK airport in New York in mid-day, told the AFP a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (FAA), Jim Peters.

"The crew reported a loss of cabin pressure," said the spokesman, adding that the reason was unknown.

No passenger or crew member was injured, he added.

American Airlines could not be reached Sunday to give his version.

Friday afternoon, another spectacular incident had hit a Boeing 737 operated by Southwest Airlines, part of the roof was torn off after shortly after takeoff from Phoenix (Arizona, Southwest).

The plane, headed for Sacramento, California (West) had landed on an air base in Yuma (Arizona). A member of the crew and a passenger were slightly injured.

The incident has led Southwest to inspect 79 Boeing 737s.Sunday, the company said in a statement it had found "small cracks below the surface" on two planes.

Friday morning, another American Airlines plane, a Boeing 737 between Washington to Chicago, landed in the airport emergency Dayton (Ohio Northern) after the disappearance of four passengers, while many others felt sick.The origin of the problem was not disclosed.

These incidents come one month after the deactivation by the United States, imitated by Canada and France, systems that supply oxygen in the toilets of some models of aircraft, for fear that they are terrorists.

The FAA then estimated that the depressurization event was "extremely rare" in aircraft.

LIBYA: NATO takes command, the coalition strikes Sirte and Tripoli, the insurgents argue

AFP - The inhabitants fled in Sirte on Sunday hometown of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in fear of air raids of the coalition and the arrival of the rebels advancing rapidly toward the west taking advantage of the disarray of the government forces.

NATO has announced to take "immediate" command of all military operations in Libya, which were hitherto were conducted by a coalition led by the United States, France and Great Britain.

"We do not stop until you have freed Misrata, Tripoli and then!"

Sunday morning, the rebels took over the oil terminal at Ras Lanuf (east), according to AFP journalists.This town is located 210 km west of Ajdabiya, strategic crossroads recovered Saturday by the rebels.

The pro-Gaddafi "fled last night after the air strike," said an insurgent, Mohsen Omar, 30. "They fled, and now we are pursuing.It does not stop until you have freed Misrata, Tripoli and then! "

Pro-government forces retreated towards Gaddafi in Sirte, 200 km further west, along a flat coast and desert difficult to defend without heavy artillery or aircraft.

The rebels were in the late afternoon Nofilia, a small town between sea and desert, 110 km of Sirte, and more than 400 km from their stronghold, Benghazi.

They expect the bombing to Sirte international venture, while dozens of families fleeing the city towards Tripoli in fear of air raids and the international arrival of the rebels, said a journalist from AFP .

In the evening, a coalition air raid took place in Sirte, where armed men in military uniform and some in civilian clothes, were traveling in dozens of pick-up bearing pictures of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The day before, the city had already been the target of intense airstrikes.

Raids to facilitate the advance of rebel troops

Explosions and gunfire were also heard DCA in Tripoli around 18.30 GMT Sunday, according to an AFP journalist.Libyan television confirmed the raids on Tripoli and Sirte coalition.

To the west, the French fighter planes led Sunday air strikes against Libyan armored vehicles and "a major ammunition depot" in the regions and Misrata Zentena, announced the French army.

Saturday, resuming and Ajdabiya Site Brega Petroleum neighbor had set up the first victory of the rebels since the start of international intervention on March 19, reversing the trend after a long week of retreat and stagnation.

Since Thursday, the raids have "prepared the battlefield" and the officers and soldiers who joined the rebellion played a major role, coordinating their attacks with the coalition, according to a rebel spokesman in Benghazi, Chamseddine Abdoulmolah.

According to the insurgents, the oil fields they control areas currently produce 100,000 to 130,000 barrels per day.The opposition plans to export oil by "less than a week," said a rebel spokesman, Ali Tarhoni, adding that the rebellion has delegated to the Qatar market.

NATO runs military operations in Libya

Accused of having launched a war without an exit strategy in Libya, U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the developments, stating that the intervention was "targeted and being successful."

NATO, already responsible for enforcing the arms embargo and the no-fly zone over Libya, decided to take command of all military operations in Libya.

"We asked the senior operational command of NATO to implement the execution of this operation immediately," said Sunday night the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

With the approach of the contact group meeting in London on Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a Franco-British initiative for a political solution.

Italy, the former colonial power, has announced that it is also a plan, which provides an exile of Colonel Gaddafi."Even within the regime, there are people working on this solution," the foreign minister, Franco Frattini.

Benedict XVI has called for opening "an immediate dialogue" to reach a cease-fire in Libya.

A first boat carrying African migrants from Libya, with on board nearly 300 people, arrived Sunday in southern Italy and was followed by three others, according to the coastguard and humanitarian organizations.

Rome said he feared a wave of at least 200,000 to 300,000 immigrants from tip of Muammar Gaddafi has warned that thousands of migrants could reach Europe.

LIBYA: Several loud explosions heard in Tripoli

Firing of the air defense and several loud bangs were heard Thursday morning in Tripoli, the sixth day of the offensive of the international coalition, according to an AFP journalist.

The DCA went into action at 4:30 GMT and several loud explosions resounded then, according to an AFP journalist who was unable to identify the origin of the blasts.

The coalition had conducted air raids on Wednesday night in Tripoli.Of flak and fighter aircraft noise had been heard above the city, according to AFP journalists.

By early evening, a loud explosion occurred on a basis of the Libyan army in the region Tajoura, 32 km east of Tripoli, witnesses said AFP.

These witnesses saw flames rising over the military base after the explosion.

The Libyan news agency Jana said last year that the international coalition raids on the eastern outskirts of Tripoli on Wednesday night had "targeted a residential area," making a "significant number of civilian deaths".

UNITED STATES: Boeing and EADS suspended Washington's decision on tanker

AFP - The Pentagon is expected to unveil Thursday its decision on the mega-tanker contract from the U.S. Air Force, for which the U.S. aviation giant Boeing and Europe's EADS are competing for several years.

Several congressional sources said on condition of anonymity Wednesday that the decision on the contract of $ 35 billion was to be unveiled Thursday.

The solicitation is 179 tanker aircraft to replace the aging fleet of KC-135 U.S. Air Force from the 50.The Pentagon will buy these devices at a rate of 15 per year maximum and plans to spend $ 900 million in 2012.

According to Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute, a think tank based in Arlington, near Washington, EADS appears poised to win the contract.

The history of this tender is peppered with twists, including a spy scandal, and the contract was canceled twice, having been awarded to Boeing for the first time in 2003 and a second in 2008 to Airbus and Northrop Grumman.

EADS, the parent company of aircraft manufacturer Airbus, launches this time without a major trading partner, but with the support of hundreds of U.S. equipment.

EADS submitted a military version of its Airbus A330, the KC-45, it boasts as "the only real-tanker aircraft already in operation" while the version presented by the 767 Boeing is "on paper" and argues that its production in the United States would generate 48,000 jobs in the country.

The European firm announced last week it had revised its price down to steal the contract.

Boeing says his side as he presented the instrument ensure "better operational capabilities to U.S. combat aircraft with a fuel consumption 24% lower than the unit proposed by EADS," and that support 50,000 jobs in the United States.

In Congress, elected representatives of the States of Washington, Kansas (center), Missouri (center), Michigan (north) and South Carolina (southeast), where Boeing plants or subcontractors working with the manufacturer, have been campaigning for months for the selection of the American.

However, elected officials in Alabama (south) where the tanker would be assembled to support the European Airbus.

YEMEN: The opposition expressed its willingness to resume dialogue with the government

Reuters - Clashes erupted Sunday between Yemen security forces and anti-government protesters who tried to march on the presidential palace in Sanaa, witnesses said.

Shortly before the clashes, the opposition agreed to begin talks with Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh, who is trying to contain the wave of revolutions in the region.

"The Yemeni people want the fall of the regime", "the Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution," chanted the protesters at the rally attended by 1,000 people.Some dozens of them are then posted to march on the presidential palace.

In early February, tens of thousands of people had "day of anger" organized by the opposition to demand a regime change.

Clashes broke out recently between supporters and opponents of the government.

According to opposition leaders, ten demonstrators were arrested in Sanaa, the capital, and 120 were detained for the night in the city of Taiz where authorities broke up a demonstration Saturday.

Four people were injured in Sanaa where the police beat protesters with sticks they threw stones, witnesses said.

Saleh, in power for over thirty years and fears the aftershocks of the unprecedented wave of protest that affects several countries of the Arab world, has pledged to leave office at the end of his term in 2013 and promised that his son will not head the government. He invited the opposition to the discussions.

"The opposition does not reject the invitation of the President and is ready to sign an agreement in less than a week," said former Foreign Minister, Mohammed Basindwa, now a member of the opposition.

The talks should be held under the auspices of the West or the Gulf, he added however.

Instability in Yemen could be a risk to political and security for the Gulf States.The United States also rely on Yemen to fight against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

NORTH AFRICA: The immolation, an act of desperation to high political office

A father of six children, dealer on the run, was doused with petrol before lighting a lighter in the open market on Wednesday, El-Oued, Algeria. Dozens of people were quickly intervened to try to save him. The day before, a lawyer of forty years has tried to set themselves on fire outside the government headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Monday is a contractor for 43 years Mauritania has poured a flammable liquid into his car before setting it on fire. He meant by this act, denouncing "the country's political situation and the regime."

Since the immolation, December 17, the young unemployed Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi, became the symbol of the revolution of Tunisia, a dozen people at least have replicated this gesture in the Arab world.One person died of his injuries in Algeria. "These events seem, a priori, bound to each other, tells Michael France24.com Ayari, associate researcher at the Research Institute for the Study of Arab and Muslim world (IREMAM). These countries are in any case face similar problems, such as rising prices "of basic commodities.

"The fire destroyed and regenerates"

For many observers, these sacrifices reflect the desperation of some of the Arab population. By their violence and the fact that they are held in public and not anonymous, they are also political.The immolation "contains a message for power that is: 'I protest', explained to AFP Hefny Kedra, professor of political psychology at Ain Shams University, Cairo.

"This series of sacrifices is a sign of political deadlock, an ideological vacuum, confirms Michael Ayari. It reveals that many things are not in the office of the underbody Arab world. Symbolically, the Fire destroys but also regenerates, like the phoenix rising from the ashes.These gestures can be a political regeneration: in sacrifice, we destroy what destroys us. "

An analysis shared Nacéra Sadou, clinical psychologist and consultant to the Algerian Society of psychological research, quoted by the Algerian daily El Watan. " Immolate is somehow "reclaiming the right to appear, a way to exist, to say 'I'm here,' she says. In the destruction of the relationship between inside and The outside skin is seen as the only means of expression since access to speech is impossible. "

Psycho-sociologist in Beirut, Lebanon, Raja Makki believes, too, that these desperate acts are a means "to exist"."It seems to me that people in the Arab world, is seeking a new identity, says she France24.com. People are fragmented between two models, West and East. They have many problems to exist; citizenship does not exist in the true sense of the term, diets do not protect the individual as a human being, as a citizen. It is a sentiment that has simmered in an indirect and invisible, expressed today. "

Nor religious, nor specificity Arabic

Symptom of a socio-economic, political and ideological self-immolation has, according to Michael Ayari, no religious connotation. "This is currently the social, not religious, which is dominant" in the protest movements of the Arab street, "he says.On Tuesday, the highest institution in Sunni Islam, Al-Azhar, however, stressed that Islam forbids any form of suicide. "Islam does not separate from her body to express discomfort, anger or protest," said the spokesperson of the institution, Mohamed al-Tahtawi Rifa'a, while stating that individuals who committed these acts could be "in a state of mental instability."

Should this be seen, however, specificity of the Arab world? Ayari for Michael, the answer is clearly no. Tibetan Buddhist monks, for example, have repeatedly sacrificed by fire. Russia, China, South Korea or Burma, such events have already occurred.Between 1998 and 2003, hundreds of people have also attempted suicide by immolation in north-western Iran.

If the media today identify with extreme attention to each case immolation in the Arab world because of the Tunisian revolution, it is however clear that the phenomenon is not completely unprecedented in the region. "We have witnessed in recent years all sorts of suicide beyond the traditional, Gaci said Ali, a specialist in social psychology, the Algerian daily" L'Expression ".Young people have committed suicide by self-mutilating to challenge their release lists of homes, while others were thrown overboard, preferring to drown rather than be rescued by the coastguard, "said there.

In Morocco, in 2005, a group of unemployed youth himself had organized a march "from the hiring or death" with a destination of the seat of the Prime Minister's Office, Rabat, threatening to immolate themselves.In Tunisia, a few farmers had also threatened suicide in the late 1960s to protest against the nationalization of agriculture.

In sacrificing himself in his little town of Sidi Bouzid, Mohamed Bouazizi himself has crystallized the challenges and frustrations social and economic policies in a large part of the Arab world, causing a shockwave that was certainly not imagine ...