A Tunisian man who set himself alight last week in a protest against unemployment has died from his burns, a hospital official said Tuesday.

Ammar Gharsalla, a 48-year-old father of three, had been part of a group of protesters staging a sit-in outside the Gafsa government office last Thursday to highlight the unemployment problem in the region.

He suffered third-degree burns and died at midday on Monday, said Fakher Eluati, a top official at a hospital specialising in severe burns outside Tunis.

Self-immolation has particular significance in Tunisia, where unemployed fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in December 2010 to protest harassment by officials.

Bouazizi died from his burns in early January 2011, sparking a revolt that toppled president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and sparked the Arab Spring uprisings.