TUNIS (Reuters) – Gunmen fired at random from cars in Tunis on Saturday and inmates staged a mass jailbreak while leaders tried to map out Tunisia's political future after the president was swept from power.
The speaker of parliament, Fouad Mebazza, was sworn in as interim president. He asked Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to form a coalition government and the constitutional authorities said a presidential election should be held within 60 days.
It was not clear who the assailants were but a senior military source told Reuters that people affiliated to former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali were behind the shootings.
Soldiers and tanks were stationed in the center of Tunis to try to restore order in the aftermath of a night of looting that broke out when Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following a month of violent anti-government protests that claimed dozens of lives.
A plume of black smoke billowed from a fire in a northern suburb of the Tunis and drifted across the skyline, leaving an acrid burning smell in the air several kms (miles) away.
As night fell, a Reuters reporter said suburban neighborhoods were being guarded from looters by impromptu militias, made up of residents armed with clubs and knives. They blocked neighborhoods and only allowed local people to pass.
In a sign that Ben Ali's rule was over, workers were taking down a portrait of the former president outside the headquarters of his RCD party on Mohamed V Avenue in the center of Tunis.
"We are very happy to be free after 23 years of prison," said Fahmi Bouraoui, drinking coffee in the Mozart cafe, one of a few businesses that reopened on Saturday morning.
But his optimism could be short-lived as parts of the country descended into chaos.
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