Tataouine
© Flickr user Iñaki Martínez de MarigortaStar Wars Mos Espa set in Tozeur.
Over the weekend, Tunisia received a jolt from a galaxy far, far away.

A space object, likely a meteorite, fell on Sunday in a rural desert area of the Tataouine governorate in southern Tunisia, not far from the filming location of the first Star Wars movie, according to local radio reports.

Witnesses, according to Radio Tataouine, say that a bright object was seen falling from the sky at around 8 p.m. and then exploded on the ground. The streaking space object was reportedly visible from the city of Tataouine, the governorate's capital.

No injuries or damages have been reported from the rural, arid area.

Tataouine inspired the name of Luke Skywalker's home planet in the Star Wars films, although series creator spelled it "Tatooine."

Tunisians used news of the space object as an opportunity for political humor, mostly targeting President Moncef Marzouki, jabbing the leader for his manner of gazing.

A veteran activist had his own version of events.

"A meteor was passing by quietly in the sky, it looked down for some reason, the meteor was bored and decided to look down only to see Marzouki in the presidential palace so it had a heart attack and fell on the spot," posted Azyz Amami, a blogger and political activist.

"Finally we know why the president always has his eyes in the sky, he was waiting for the meteor," Iyed Dahmani, a withdrawn National Constitution Assembly member from the opposition, wrote on Facebook.

"The meteor fell, which means that starting from today Marzouki will start looking down," posted Facebook user Nidal Becheikh.

A military patrol is now looking for the impact site, according to radio reports.