New Tunisian Government to Form, Despite Violence

A tank guards the center of Tunis, 16 Jan. 2011. Tunisia sped toward a new future after its iron-fisted leader fled, with an interim president sworn in and ordering the country's first multiparty government to be formed.

Tunisia's prime minister is expected to announce a new coalition government Monday, a day after the country's special forces fought heavy gunbattles with loyalists of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
In a brief statement on state television Sunday, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi said a new national unity government would "most certainly" be announced Monday.
Fighting had erupted Sunday afternoon around the presidential palace, about 15 kilometers north of the capital, Tunis.  Tunisian military sources say the army and members of the country's new presidential guard repelled attacks from militias loyal to Mr. Ben Ali.
The military also arrested dozens of people, including two former top security officials, for allegedly conspiring against the acting Tunisian government.
Meanwhile, the capital remains heavily occupied by military tanks and heavily armed riot police, while many stores and businesses are closed.
Presidential elections are to be held in 60 days, but it is not clear how Tunisia can prepare for democracy after more than two decades of authoritarian rule.
Prime Minister Ghannouchi held talks Sunday to fill the vacuum left by Mr. Ben Ali's abrupt departure after 23 years in power.  The Reuters news agency, quoting sources close to the negotiations, said Najib Chebbi, founder of the opposition PDP party, will become regional development minister in the new government. Opposition leaders would reportedly also get the higher education and health portfolios.
Leftist and Islamist parties, outlawed under Mr. Ben Ali, were by all accounts left out from the talks.  They remain banned by law from political participation.
The former president and members of his family flew to Saudi Arabia Friday after a month of protests and rioting over official corruption and unemployment.  The unrest has claimed dozens of lives.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a telephone call Sunday to Tunisia's Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane, urged the country's new leadership to restore order as quickly as possible.  She noted the Tunisian government is going through a period of significant transition, but she stressed the "importance of addressing popular concerns about the lack of civil liberties and economic opportunities."
The State Department has warned U.S. citizens to defer non-essential travel to Tunisia, saying it is withdrawing all embassy families because of the unrest and urging all Americans to consider leaving the country. (From VOA)