Violent clashes have erupted in several cities across Tunisia after a journalist set himself alight to draw attention to economic hardship in the North African nation.

TV reporter Abderrazak Zorgui died on Monday after recording a desperate video message lamenting the failed promises of the Tunisia’s Arab Spring before setting himself on fire minutes later.

In a live stream posted to YouTube, the 32-year-old urged young people in the poverty-stricken city of Kasserine to rise up against escalating unemployment rates and poor living conditions.

Zorgui spoke out against continuing marginalisation and high unemployment in the provincial city of Kasserine, which has become a symbol of the country’s economic and social tensions.

“I have decided today to put a revolution in motion,” he said in the video.

“Whoever wishes to support me will be welcome. I am going to protest alone. I am going to set myself on fire and if at least one person gets a job thanks to me, I will be satisfied.”

He then set himself on fire, invoking the history-making actions of street vendor Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi, whose 2011 self-immolation forced Tunisian president Ben Ali from power and was a catalyst for the democratic revolution that came to be known as the Arab Spring.

The journalist’s actions sparked a wave of protests that began in Kasserine and quickly degenerated into violence, with police firing tear gas to disperse crowds blocking roads.

Interior Ministry spokesman Sofiane Zaag said 18 people had been arrested after six police officers were injured by people hurling stones.

Protests continued after Zorgui’s funeral service in Kasserine, home to the country’s poorest citizens and highest unemployment rate and an area which has struggled for years against extremists in the nearby mountains who are linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

The Tunisian National Journalists Union called for demonstrations and a possible strike in response to Zorgui’s death. It accused the state of contributing by not cracking down on corruption.

Tunisian reporters expressed solidarity with Zorgui, lamenting precarious conditions for freelancers with no legal protections and low pay amid Tunisia’s struggling economy.

“The reasons for this young man’s suicide are poverty and marginalisation, as well as the fragile situation of most journalists,” Latifa Labiadh, a presenter for local radio station Amal, said.

Tunisia is alone among the Arab Spring nations in terms of establishing and maintaining a democratic political order but continues to struggle economically.

Corruption remains widespread and the youth unemployment rate stands at 35 per cent.