TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisia's interim leaders are planning to announce a
new government Monday that includes opposition leaders for the first
time — a move they hope will stabilize their violence-wracked nation.
Police
were seen using tear gas to break up a demonstration on the main avenue
in central Tunis on Monday, and helicopters were circling overhead.
There were also unconfirmed reports of the arrests or killings of gunmen
behind shooting rampages since autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday.
RELATED:Analysis: Tunisia first popular uprising in Arab world
PM: Regional events show why ironclad security deal necessary
People power in Tunisia
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, a longtime ally of Ben Ali, said a
new national unity government was likely to be announced Monday that
would include former regime opponents long locked out of access to
power. That would mark an unprecedented transition of power in the Arab
world.
Many Tunisians were hopeful about the first new government
in 23 years but wary of what the future may hold. Some countries — like
Tunisia's former colonial overseer, France — have called for restraint
as unrest in the North African country plays out.
A semblance of
normal daily life returned in some areas of the capital on Monday, with
once-shuttered shops, gas stations, pharmacies and supermarkets
reopening and many people returning to their jobs.
Hundreds of
stranded tourists were still being evacuated from the country. Foreign
airlines were gradually resuming service that was halted when Tunisian
airspace closed amid the upheaval.
The constitution requires
elections in 60 days after the departure of a leader, but one opposition
leader told The Associated Press that Tunisian authorities could
announce presidential elections in the next six months instead.
The
opposition PDP party has pushed for the later timetable because its
leaders feel Tunisians need time to familiarize themselves with parties
so elections can be credible after decades of one-party rule, the
official said.
Nejib Chebbi, a PDP founder and its longtime
leader, and two other leaders of opposition parties are expected to gain
posts in the new government along with some members of Ben Ali's former
regime, the party official, speaking said on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Over the weekend,
police arrested dozens of people, including the top presidential
security chief, as tensions appeared to mount between Tunisians buoyant
over Ben Ali's ouster and loyalists in danger of losing major perks.
Looting escalated as ordinary Tunisians saw worsening shortages of essentials such as milk, bread and fish.
A
gunbattle broke out around the presidential palace late Sunday
afternoon in Carthage on the Mediterranean shore, north of Tunis. The
army and members of the newly appointed presidential guard fought off
attacks from militias loyal to Ben Ali, said a member of the new
presidential guard. Another two-hour gunbattle behind the Interior
Ministry in central Tunis raged at the same time.
The prime minister said police and the army have carried out arrests
among armed groups, without saying how many, and insisted "the coming
days will show who is behind them."
"We won't be tolerant towards these people," Ghannouchi said.
Ex-presidential security chief Ali Seriati and his deputy were charged
with a plot against state security, aggressive acts and for "provoking
disorder, murder and pillaging," the TAP state news agency reported.
The downfall of the 74-year-old Ben Ali, who had taken power in a
bloodless coup in 1987, served as a warning to other autocratic leaders
in the Arab world. His Mediterranean nation, an ally in the US fight
against terrorism and a popular tourist destination known for its wide
beaches, deserts and ancient ruins, had seemed more stable than many in
the region before the uprising that began last month.