Pressure mounts for Tunisian PM to quit

Pressure rising on Tunisian PM to quit as main trade union targeted his transitional government.

TUNIS: Thousands of anti-government protesters rallied outside Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi's offices on Sunday, calling for him to quit after the downfall of the north African state's 23 year regime.

"The people have come to bring down the government," around 5,000 protesters chanted as they brandished pictures of some of the dozens of people killed by security forces during the uprising against president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

They broke through security cordons to reach the doors of the building.

The new transitional government, put in place following Ben Ali's ouster on January 14, has unveiled unprecedented freedoms but is still led by Ghannouchi. Other old regime figures have also held on to key posts.

The protest was supported by the General Union of Tunisian Workers, known under its French acronym as UGTT, which played a key role in anti-Ben Ali protests and has refused to recognise the fledgling government.

The state news agency has said that security forces had detained two more figures linked to the old regime. Senate head Abdallah Kallel, who was a former interior minister, and Abdel Aziz Ben Dhia, a key adviser to Ben Ali and key ideologue of the old regime.

They are being held under house arrest, said the report.

But many Tunisians say their revolution has not yet achieved its goals and are calling for the break-up of the powerful former ruling party.

Thousands took part in peaceful anti-government demonstration on Saturday in Tunis and were joined by hundreds of police officers, some of whom briefly blocked a car carrying the country's interim president Foued Mebazaa.

Public assemblies of more than three people are officially banned under a state of emergency that remains in place, along with a night-time curfew. The curfew has been eased and schools and universities, which have been shut since January 10, are expected to start their academic activities this week.

Many Tunisians are already enjoying their new-found freedoms after the first popular revolt in the Arab world's recent history, which has inspired dissidents to protest in many other parts of the region.

The government has said elections will be held in six months but no dates have been set and under the constitution they should take place in two months.