• 07:41
  • Sunday ,06 February 2011
العربية

Tunisia police shoot two dead at Kef protest

By-BBC

International News

00:02

Sunday ,06 February 2011

Tunisia police shoot two dead at Kef protest

 Tunisian police have killed two people during a protest in the north-western town of Kef.
Officers opened fire after a crowd attacked a police station, setting it on fire.

They were demanding the resignation of the police chief, whom they accused of abusing his power.
The deaths came as a nationwide night-time curfew, imposed during the unrest which ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, was shortened by two hours.
The protests are widely seen as a having inspired the current turmoil in Egypt and demonstrations in other countries in the region.
An interior ministry official said about 1,000 people had gathered in front of the Kef police station.
They were reported to have thrown stones and petrol bombs at the building.
"The police fired to prevent the protesters from breaking into the station," Reuters news agency quoted the official as saying.
Trade unionists told the AFP news agency that the number of protesters was about 300.
'Reduced threat'
The UN says at least 219 people died in the weeks of unrest which preceded the resignation of Mr Ben Ali in mid-January.
The police force has largely been blamed for the deaths.
The country has been relative calm since Mr Ali went into exile, but small-scale protests demanding the removal of anyone linked to the former regime have continued.
A unity government has been sworn in and Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has promised elections within six months.
While a night-time curfew remains in place, it has now been shortened to four hours, between midnight and 0400 local time (2300 GMT to 0300 GMT).
Earlier on Saturday, the UK's Foreign Office lifted its travel warning for Tunisia, citing a "reduced threat".