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Tunis/Paris: Gunfire
erupted in the Tunisian capital Tunis just hours after Foued
Mbazaa was sworn in as interim president.
Tunisian journalists said it sounded like the army was moving
against the presidential guard of longtime leader Zine el-Abidine
ben Ali, who fled the country Friday to Saudi Arabia.
Mbazaa, the former speaker of parliament, was sworn in as
president Saturday as the 23-year autocratic presidency of Ben Ali
ended in a popular uprising.
Looters prevailed in the commercial centres and prisoners ran amok
after a fire. Under a state of emergency, army tanks patrolled the
streets. Relief at Ben Ali's departure was tempered with concern
over what lay ahead.
The French government vowed to stop movement of funds connected to
Tunisian assets, to prevent family members of the ousted
government from illegally enrichment.
Upwards of 50 people were reported killed when a prison in the
coastal city of Monastir caught fire as part of a strike for
freedom, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.
Mbazaa ordered his prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, who briefly
took power Friday, to propose a unity government with ruling party
and opposition members to govern until the next elections, which
must be held within 60 days, according to the constitution.
The opposition, which was neutered under Ben Ali's rule, has been
demanding to play a part in running the country, saying the
current administration is corrupt and tainted by the police
killing dozens of demonstrators.
A rush to new elections raised concern for many Tunisians.
"If a new election is quickly held, then the oppoisition will not
have time to organize itself ... Only the old guard will take
power," said Elias Nefzaoui, 25, in Tunis.
An 1800-0600 curfew stranded hundreds of arriving passengers at
the airport in Tunis. Restaurants ran out of food, and families
bedded down on the floor. Many Tunisians were returning home from
abroad out of concern for their families.
A dozen arriving aircraft were expected through the nighttime
hours.
Hundreds of European holidaymakers have fled the country. German
tour operators cancelled all flights to Tunisia. Tourists
returning home to Germany reported widespread destruction, plunder
and destroyed petrol stations and police station.
"I was afraid," said Mbarka Khamassi of Baden Wuerttenberg after
she arrived in Stuttgart.
Ben Ali fled after a month-long popular revolt that began when an
unemployed school graduate trying to eke out a living selling
vegetables fatally set himself alight in front of a government
building Dec 17. Officials had seized his produce.
The German government called for Tunisia to build a democracy, and
Chancelleor Angela Merkel offered Germany's help.
The Jordanian government said it respected "the choice of the
brethren Tunisian people" and pledged to stand with them in
preventing the country "from sliding into chaos."
Jordan's opposition Islamic Action Front (IAF) hailed the toppling
of Ben Ali and advised Arab leaders to quit "despotism" and speed
up real political reforms in their respective countries.
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