Police in Tunisia fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of protesters in Kasserine demonstrating against the region’s dire unemployment rate.

Witnesses said that police fired live gunfire into the air after protesters threw stones at the officers.

Authorities said that twenty protesters and fourteen police officers have been injured during the last two days of demonstrations.

Officials said that on Saturday twenty eight year old, Ridha Yahyaoui, an unemployed man part of demonstrations, climbed to the top of a power pole close to the governor’s office and was electrocuted.

Authorities said that Yahyaoui was protesting after his name was removed from a list of people to be hired for public sector jobs.

Human rights groups said that Kasserine remains one of the poorest regions inside of Tunisia.