Moved by the self-immolation of a journalist, Tunisians took to the streets to protest economic crisis and austerity policies.

A massive protest broke out in Kasserine—one of Tunisia's poorest and most depressed cities—after a journalist set himself on fire to denounce the difficult living conditions in this North African nation.

Through a video posted on Facebook before his self-immolation, journalist Abderazzak Zergui explained that his action aimed to start a revolution like the one that was unleashed after the suicide of the young Mohamad Bouazizi, an action that triggered the so-called "Arab springs," a wave of protests that forced the dictator Zinedin el Abidin Ben Ali to leave the country eight years ago.

"I decided to start a revolution on my own," Zergui said in a message appealing to "those who have no means of subsistence, who do not have anything to eat."

In his plea, Zergui explained that politician's promises of change remain empty since the escape of the ruler.

"It's enough, eight years already, you get tired of unfulfilled daily promises. They are just lies. I do not belong to any political party. You refuse to hire the unemployed and you prefer to corrupt those who already have a livelihood", added the journalist, who urged his compatriots to a new revolution.

Today Dec 24, 2018, Abdel Razzaq Rizqi, @TelvzaTVOff TV cameraman, died after setting himself on fire in #Tunisia's ����Kasserine, spoke of economic injustice



On Dec 17, 2010, vendor Mohamed Bouazizi immolated himself after the confiscation of his push cart by local officials pic.twitter.com/wRkQQYRmSB — SaadAbedine (@SaadAbedine) December 24, 2018

After the journalist's death, protesters blocked Kasserine's main streets with burning tires and faced the police.

For its part, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists threatened a general strike and accused the State of "contributing to transforming the media sector into a dirty money focus that serves particular interests, without control and without respect for the laws and labor regulations."

Although Tunisia's political transition involved some degree of progress as a result of the Arab springs, the country is still going through a deep economic and social crisis. Currently, 35 percent of youth are unemployed and corruption is endemic in the country.

The absence of economic transformations led Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi to request a US$2.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Currently, Tunisia's public debt-to-GDP ratio surpasses 69.9 percent.

The multilateral loan was given in exchange for a series of austerity policies which have contributed to the increase in unemployment.

Since Zorgui's funeral on Tuesday, Kasserine has become a symbol of Tunisia's economic problems and social tensions, according to Al Jazeera.