Clashes broke out in the Tunisian capital yesterday between riot police and hundreds of demonstrators, as a new cabinet aimed at putting an end to mass protests was sworn into office.
Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas as some groups threw stones in the main government quarter, where protesters have camped out in front of Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi’s offices for five days.
The protest camp was shut down and at least five people were injured, a medic said. AFP reporters saw police beating and arresting several protesters.
The head of the Tunisian League for Human Rights, Moktar Trifi, said he had asked Mr Ghannouchi “to stop the firing of tear gas and release those arrested.
Running street battles continued into the evening in central Tunis.
The streets of Tunis had earlier returned to their normal bustle for the first time since president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s ouster on January 14, but cafes quickly cleared and shopkeepers drew down their metal blinds.
The government announced a new cabinet line-up on Thursday that culled key figures associated with Ben Ali’s ousted regime but protesters in Tunis had remained in place, calling for Mr Ghannouchi himself to resign.
But Mr Ghannouchi seems to have won breathing space from some powerful critics.
The influential UGTT trade union, which had refused to endorse the government until there has been a clean break from the Ben Ali era, said it was now supporting the prime minister – who has been in charge since 1999.
The government shake-up had replaced the foreign, defence, finance and interior ministers – all hangovers from Ben Ali’s last government – and introduced new figures such as a human rights lawyer as agriculture minister.
“This is a temporary government with a clear mission – to allow a transition to democracy,” Mr Ghannouchi said in an address on state television.
Kamel Morjane, who announced his resignation shortly before the reshuffle was announced, was replaced as foreign minister by Ahmed Ounais, a Paris-educated career diplomat and former ambassador to Moscow and New Delhi.
Mr Ounais is expected to visit Brussels next Tuesday, EU officials said.
European Union chief diplomat Catherine Ashton told Mr Ounais that she would send an expert team to Tunisia next week to help prepare, her spokesman said.
France, which has come under fire for backing Ben Ali and failing to support protests early on, said it wished the new government “success”.
Tunisian newspapers were generally positive about the government changes, with a headline in Le Quotidien daily reading: “Deliverance, At Last”.
But the more ambiguous headline in Le Temps said: “The Appeasement?”, hinting at the degree of scepticism still remaining.
Protesters earlier told AFP that the changes were not enough.
“The whole government has to go, especially Mr Ghannouchi,” said Khaled Salhi, a 22-year-old student who called the reshuffle just “playing for time.”