Tunisian army fires warning shots at protesters
Rounds fired into air as demonstrators converge on headquarters of former ruling party
- guardian.co.uk,
- Article history
The Tunisian army fired warning shots in the capital today as demonstrators converged on the headquarters of the long-time ruling party.
Protesters climbed over the RCD party offices in central Tunis and dismantled the sign bearing its name.
The new unity government has been criticised for being mostly made up of politicians from the RCD party, which was founded by Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, the ousted president who fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after 23 years in power.
Another member of the government, Zouheir M'dhaffer, resigned today after four ministers quit earlier this week. M'dhaffer, who was administrative development minister, had been a member of Ben Ali's party but was not considered close to the ousted leader.
The army fired rounds into the air outside the party headquarters, scattering some protesters. The building was protected by an army tank, trucks and troops.
Police repeatedly shot at protesters in the weeks leading up to the ousting of Ben Ali, killing several people, but the army has been playing more of a peacekeeping role since it was brought in to try to restore order last week .
Soldiers have been protecting strategic sites and public buildings and manning checkpoints around the capital, but there have been no reports of them firing on unarmed civilians since Ben Ali left.
The crowd of protesters swelled to 1,500 today, many chanting, "The people want the government down." Others waved baguettes to symbolise the need to end food shortages.
Ahmad al-Ouni, brought his children aged eight and four to the demonstration. "I want them to smell their free country and to see the new Tunis without fear," he said while his children drew Tunisian flags.
Another demonstrator said the protests would continue until all ministers and members of parliament with links to the RCD party were removed from power.
"This revolution cannot be stolen from us and we will not tire from demonstrating, and we will come out every day if we have to," said Mohsen Kaabi, 55, a former military officer.
The interim government has attempted to ease tensions by releasing all the country's political prisoners.
National television also reported that least 33 members of Ben Ali's family were taken into custody as they tried to flee the country. Prosecutors are investigating overseas bank accounts, property and other assets held by Ben Ali, his wife, Leila Trabelsi, and other relatives.
Swiss officials froze all assets tied to Ben Ali's family yesterday, estimating that Tunisian officials had put about $620m into Swiss banks. In Paris, the anti-corruption group Transparency International France and two other associations filed suits alleging corruption by Ben Ali and his wife.
A French government minister said the Tunisian central bank director, Taoufik Baccar, had resigned following widespread rumours that the president's wife had fled with a huge stash of gold.
Tunisia's central bank took control of Banque Zitouna, which was founded by a son-in-law of Ben Ali, to protect its deposits.
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