TUNIS, Feb 5: Tunisian authorities have arrested two policemen over suspected links to the death on Friday of two civilians after a police station they were locked in caught fire, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

“Two policemen have been arrested at the police station on suspicion related to the incident that resulted in the death of two young men in a fire,” the spokesman said, but did not elaborate.

The incident happened in Sidi Bouzid, the town that was the starting point for unrest that forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country and inspired anti-government protests around the Arab world.

The two victims had been arrested on alcohol related charges, the official media had said.

An unemployed man from Sidi Bouzid, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in December to protest at his mistreatment by a policeman. He later died.

His act sparked the protests that toppled Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia in January after 23 years in power.—Reuters