Tunisia to unveil new government
Former head of security under arrest
Tunisia's prime minister says a new unity government should be formed by Monday, an announcement that came two days after street protests prompted the country's autocratic president to flee creating a political vacuum.
Mohamed Ghannouchi said on state television Sunday, "Tomorrow we will announce the new government, which will open a new page in the history of Tunisia."
There are three legal opposition parties that could be included in the government that Ghannouchi has been directed to form by the new interim president, Fouad Mebazaa. Negotiations are advanced, Ghannouchi said Sunday night.
On Sunday, street violence and looting continued in the capital, Tunis, as Ghannouchi and Mebazaa — the speaker of parliament — held talks on forming a coalition.
Shooting erupted around the presidential palace in Tunis late Sunday afternoon as authorities struggled to restore order. Volleys of gunfire broke out near the opposition party headquarters and a two-hour-long battle raged behind the Interior Ministry, long feared during Ben Ali's reign as a torture site.
The violence comes two days after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power.
Ben Ali flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday night, ending 23 years of autocratic rule. Tunisians had been protesting for weeks over high unemployment and government corruption.
Since Ben Ali fled the country, state security has been accused of fomenting further violence, leading the government on Sunday to arrest the man who was in charge of the presidential guard. State media said Ali Seriati and dozens of others are accused of plotting against state security and some are said to have been involved in drive-by shootings of anti-government protesters.
The arrests Sunday are part of the effort to restore calm to the North African country, a day after Mebazaa was sworn in on and pledged to form a unity government.
Both Mebazaa and Ghannouchi met all day Sunday with opposition leaders, who want a major role in the transitional government.
Under Tunisia's constitution, a presidential election must be held within 60 days.
A state of emergency, meanwhile, remains in force and troops are patrolling the streets of the capital, investigating reports of sporadic gunfire and arson attacks.
With files from The Associated Press