ALGIERS, Algeria, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Rising food costs, housing shortages and other social and political grievances caused more rioting in the Algerian capital of Algiers, officials said Friday.
Youths clashed with police across the city, the BBC reported.
Rioters ransacked shops, lit fires in the street and tossed stones at police, who responded with tear gas and high-pressure water hoses.
The clashes, for the second straight night Thursday, followed a period of unrest in neighboring Tunisia that resulted in at least three deaths, the report said.
There has been sporadic rioting since the beginning of the new year, when the price of many food products dramatically increased. The protests have intensified since Wednesday.
Outbreaks of violence also were reported in Constantine, Oran and Bejaia.
The unrest in Tunisia started after a man set fire to himself Dec. 17 to protest the police seizure of fruit and vegetables he was selling without a permit.
