Tunisia faces political collapse

• Clashes continued in Tunis yesterday as street protesters demanded Mr Ben Ali's former colleagues in the RCD quit. Picture: Getty

Prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi brought opposition leaders into the coalition on Monday after president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following weeks of street protests.

But key figures from the old guard kept their jobs, angering opposition members of the coalition and protesters.

In a bid to defuse the row, Mr Ghannouchi and the caretaker president, Fouad Mebazza, later quit their party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally, the vehicle of Mr Ben Ali's hard-line authoritarian rule. State television, which reported the move, said the two men hoped to "split the state from the party".

But the immediate response of the trade union, UGTT, was that, while this was positive, it was not enough to reverse a decision to pull its three members out of the unity government.

Police in Tunis repeatedly used teargas in an attempt to break up a protest by hundreds of opposition party supporters and trade unionists who labelled the new government a "sham".

Several hundred people also protested against the new regime in Monastir, south of Tunis.

The weeks of protests over poverty and unemployment that forced Mr Ben Ali out prompted speculation across the Arab world that other repressive governments might also face unrest.

Abid al-Briki of the UGTT union said it still wanted to see all ministers from Mr Ben Ali's cabinet pushed out, though it would make an exception for prime minister Mr Ghannouchi. "This is in response to the demands of people on the streets," Mr Briki said.

The opposition Ettajdid party will pull out of the coalition if ministers from Mr Ben Ali's RCD party do not give up party membership and return all properties they obtained through the RCD, state television said.

Opposition health minister Mustafa Ben Jaafar also resigned over the presence of RCD members in cabinet, his party said.

On the streets, protesters insisted that ministers who had served Mr Ben Ali had no place in the coalition. "The new government is a sham. It's an insult to the revolution that claimed lives and blood," said student Ahmed al-Haji.

"The problem with the interim government is it has a number of ministers from the old government," protester Sami bin Hassan said.Mr Ghannouchi defended his government, saying some ministers had been kept on because they were needed in the run-up to elections, expected in the next two months.

He said the ministers of defence, interior, finance and foreign affairs under Mr Ben Ali would keep their jobs.

"We have tried to put together a mix that takes into account the different forces in the country to create the conditions to be able to start reforms," Mr Ghannouchi told Europe 1 radio.

However, he rejected suggestions that Mr Ben Ali's "dictatorship" would continue under a new guise.

His foreign minister, Kamel Morjane, said during a visit to Egypt that the interim government would respond to issues that had angered protesters, such as corruption, and would be preparing for new elections soon.

"It may be possible that the next government will not have any member of the former government," he said.

The government said at least 78 people were killed in the unrest, and put damage at $2 billion (1.2bn). Mr Ghannouchi vowed to release all political prisoners and to investigate corruption and prosecute those involved in torture and killings.

Yesterday Paris-based opposition leader Moncef Marzouki arrived at Tunis airport to be met by 200 supporters. "The revolution must continue," he said.