Tunisian protesters urge PM to resign

 

Protesters from Tunisia's marginalized rural heartlands are seen as they prepare to spend their second night outside the Prime Minister's office in Tunis on January 24, 2011.

Tunisian protesters continued to camp out in front of the office of ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's right-hand man, demanding him to step down.

The protesters demanded interim Premier Mohammed Ghannouchi and other members of the former ruling party of Constitutional Democratic Rally to resign, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday.

A large number of demonstrators from the impoverished rural areas were on their way to the capital city, Tunis.

The head of the Tunisian army, Rachid Ammar, warned that a power vacuum in the country could lead to dictatorship.

Protests continue in Tunisia while the interim leadership is preparing for a major cabinet reshuffle. An interim government spokesman said the cabinet shake-up would involve at least six ministerial posts.

He added that an announcement about the changes was likely late on Monday or Tuesday.

Protesters who marched to the Tunisian capital from all around the country have taken up residence in a square outside the Cabinet complex and spent their second night there.

Late on Monday, informed sources said that after a week of street protests urging the cabinet to resign, Tunisian politicians are now discussing the creation of a council to replace or oversee the interim government,

HSH/MRS/MGH

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