Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself in petrol and set himself alight in a protest against unemployment that sparked days of rioting by jobless young people.

A Tunisian young man who set himself ablaze, sparking days of social unrest has died in hospital, his family told AFP news agency, and a Paris-based rights groups confirmed.

Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old graduate, doused himself in petrol and set himself alight on December 17 in Sidi Bouzid, central Tunisia, in a protest against unemployment that sparked days of rioting by jobless young people.

"Mohamed died yesterday (Tuesday) at 5:30 pm at the hospital in Ben Arous," said his brother Salem Bouazizi. He will be buried on Wednesday, he said.
His uncle Mehdi Horchani added: "It is a tragedy. The whole family is united at Mohamed's family home to wait for the arrival of the body."

His death was announced by the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) and another rights group, CRLDHT.
Mohamed Bouazizi was forced to sell fruit and vegetables on the streets to make ends meet but police confiscated his produce because he did not have a proper permit.

He set himself alight in protest, unleashing a wave of protests that has rattled the government of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Thousands of people took to the streets on December 24, the worst day of protests where they burned the local headquarters of the national guard, who responded with gunshots that killed an 18-year-old protestor.
Protests spread to the capital Tunis in late December.