TUNIS, Tunisia – Looting, deadly prison riots and street chaos engulfed Tunisia yesterday, a day after mass protests forced its strongman to flee. A new interim president was sworn in, promising to create a unity government that could include the long-ignored opposition.
It was the second change of power in this North African nation in less than 24 hours.
Amid the political instability, looters emptied shops and torched the main train station in Tunis, soldiers traded fire with assailants in front of the Interior Ministry, and thousands of European tourists sought a plane flight home.
The death toll mounted. At least 42 people were killed yesterday in a prison fire in one resort town and the director of another prison in another tourist haven let 1 000 inmates flee after soldiers shot five dead amid a rebellion. Those deaths came on top of scores of others after a month of protests in which police often fired upon demonstrators.
After 23 years of autocratic rule, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali abruptly fled the country on Friday for Saudi Arabia following mass street protests over corruption, a lack of jobs and clampdowns on civil liberties.
The leadership changes then came at a dizzying speed.
Ben Ali’s longtime ally, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi, stepped in briefly with a vague assumption of power that left open the possibility that Ben Ali could return. But yesterday, the head of the Constitutional Council declared the president’s departure permanent and gave Fouad Mebazaa, leader of the lower house of parliament, 60 days to organize new elections.
Hours later, Mebazaa was sworn in.
In his first televised address, the interim president asked the premier to form a “national unity government in the country’s best interests” in which all political parties will be consulted “without exception nor exclusion”.
The move was one of reconciliation, but it was not clear how far the 77-year-old Mebazaa, who has been part of Tunisia’s ruling class for decades, would truly go to work with the opposition. It was also unclear who would emerge as the country’s top political leaders, since Ben Ali utterly dominated politics, placing allies in power and sending opponents into jail or exile.
On the streets, the unrest was frightening.
A fire yesterday at a prison in the Mediterranean coastal resort of Monastir killed 42 people, coroner Tarek Mghirbi told The Associated Press. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
In Mahdia, further down the coast, inmates set fire to their mattresses in protest. Soldiers opened fire, killing five inmates, top local official said. The director of the prison then let about 1 000 other inmates flee the prison to avoid further bloodshed, the official said.
In front of the Interior Ministry in Tunis, the capital, security forces and unidentified assailants had a shootout yesterday that left two bodies on the ground.
Sporadic gunfire echoed around the capital and looters were out in force. Black smoke billowed over a giant supermarket in Ariana, north of the capital, as it was torched and emptied. Soldiers fired warning shots in vain to try to stop the looters, and shops near the main bazaar were also attacked.
Some rioters appeared to be targeting businesses owned by members of Ben Ali’s family, which had financial interests in a wide range of sectors, from banking to car dealerships.
In Tunis, a branch of the Zeitouna bank founded by Ben Ali’s son-in-law was torched, as were vehicles made by Kia, Fiat and Porsche – carmakers distributed in Tunisia by members of the ruling family.
Public television station TV7 broadcast phone calls from residents on the capital’s outskirts, describing attacks by knife-wielding assailants.
Residents of some Tunis neighbourhoods set up barricades and organized overnight patrols to deter rioters. In the tiny El Menzah neighbourhood, dozens of men and boys armed with baseball bats and clubs were taking turns on patrol – just as a broadcast on Tunisian television had urged citizens to do.
“This isn’t good at all. I’m very afraid for the kids and myself,” said Lilia Ben Romdhan, a mother of three in outer Tunis. “If (Ben Ali) had stayed in the country it would be better.”
Tunisian airspace reopened yesterday, but some flights were cancelled and others left after delays. Thousands of tourists were still being evacuated from the Mediterranean nation known for its sandy beaches, desert landscapes and ancient ruins.
Tunisians abroad celebrated Ben Ali’s ouster.
Thousands of messages congratulating the Tunisian people flooded the Internet on Twitter, Facebook and blogs. Hundreds demonstrated yesterday afternoon in Brussels, demanding that Ben Ali be brought to justice. One banner read Ben Ali Has To Pay For His Crimes.
Another 8 000 people marched in Paris to express support for Tunisia’s people, waving Tunisian flags and carrying cardboard coffins to honour those killed. (AP)
