突尼斯对流放总统颁发逮捕令

Tunisia has issued an international arrest warrant for ousted¹ President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family, the nation's justice minister has said.

突尼斯司法部长称，对被流放总统扎因·阿比丁·本·阿里及其家人发布了国际逮捕令。

Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said the interim² government had asked members states to work via Interpol to detain Mr Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 January.

Mr Chebbi said Mr Ben Ali was accused of illegally acquiring property and assets and transferring funds abroad.

The minister was speaking as anti-government protests continued.

Police fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators after they reportedly tried to breach³ barricades⁴ around the prime minister's office in the capital, Tunis.

Some in crowd responded by throwing stones at the police.

They were demanding that members of the interim government who served under Mr Ben Ali - including Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi and the defence, interior, finance and foreign ministers - step down.

"We have only one demand: for the government to fall. They all have to go. Ghannouchi should go first," Bassem El Barouni was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Hamid El Gribi, another protester, said: "We have to clean up the rest of the old government."

The prime minister has said he will quit "in the shortest possible timeframe" and promised to hold elections with six months.

He is reportedly preparing to announce replacements⁵ for the five opposition⁶ ministers who resigned because of the continued dominance of Mr Ben Ali's Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD) party.