A new toxic gas leak from the chemical complex in Gabes, southern Tunisia, has triggered public outrage after about 20 students suffered breathing difficulties in the Shatt Essalem area.

The incident sparked angry protests as residents blocked roads and demanded the dismantling of the polluting industrial units.

The complex produces thousands of tons of phosphogypsum daily, discharging part of it untreated into the sea — a practice blamed for rising respiratory and cancer cases in the region.