Ministers quit day-old Tunisian government

FOUR ministers quit Tunisia’s day-old government yesterday, undermining its hopes of quelling unrest by sharing power with members of the opposition to the old regime.

Those who resigned were opponents of deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s iron-fisted 23-year rule and had been named to the government on Monday. It was not immediately clear if the resignations could bring down the government, which has 40 full and junior ministers.

Clashes broke out in central Tunis around the time the resignations were announced, as police fought off protesters demanding the new cabinet be purged of the old guard that served Ben Ali.