THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Armed gangs loyal to Tunisia's ousted president began random shooting sprees on the streets, raising fears that the country's pro-democracy uprising could erupt into a violent power struggle.
As thousands of British holidaymakers fled the North African nation, its cities echoed to the sound of gunfire and looters continued to go on the rampage, despite a heavy security presence.
In the capital, Tunis, gunmen in plain clothes drove around spraying the streets with bullets, in an apparent effort to intimidate protesters off the streets.
At least two people were believed to have been killed, with eyewitnesses reporting bodies left lying in a city centre square. Senior Tunisian military sources said the gunmen belonged to factions still loyal to the country's strongman leader, President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday night.
"It is certain the presidential police are behind all this," added Taoufik Ayachi, a Tunisian analyst. "They still hope to regain power."
In a symbolic celebration of the end of Mr Ben Ali's rule, cheering crowds tore a portrait of the former president outside the headquarters of his ruling party on Mohamed V Avenue in the centre of Tunis.
"We are very happy to be free after 23 years of prison," said Fahmi Bouraoui, who was drinking coffee in the Mozart cafe, one of a few businesses that re-opened on Saturday morning.
But others feared that such optimism could be short-lived as large parts of the country descended in to chaos. >>> Colin Freeman and Robert Mendick | Saturday, January 15, 2011
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Army awakes to calm frenzied Tunisia: As rioters smash and pillage every symbol of the exiled president’s 'ancien regime', the military is reasserting itself >>> James Bone in Carthage | Sunday, January 16, 2011 (£)
