More Tunisian ministers quit; government legalizes Islamist party

At least three more Tunisian government ministers have quit their posts following the resignation of the interim Prime Minister on Sunday, according to the state news agency, Tunis Afrique Presse.

Mohamed Ghannouchi had stepped down as PM over the weekend to meet demands of anti-government protesters that anyone linked to the regime of the ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali have no place in power (Ghannouchi had served under Ben Ali since 1989).

The three new resignations comprised Ahmad Ibrahim, minister of higher education and scientific research; Faouzia Farida Charfi, the higher education secretary; and Mohamed Nouri Jouini, the planning and international cooperation minister.

Moreover, the cabinet's most prominent opposition leader Najib Chebbi resigned, citing he did not like the direction of the government.

Meanwhile, three people were killed and nine injured during anti-government protests in the capital, Tunis, on Saturday. More than 100 people were arrested in the area in the city's center, and accused of acts of destruction and burning, the government said.

Separately, the country’s interim government has legalized the Islamist movement party Ennahda, which was banned under former President Ben Ali.

Ennahda will not be able to form a political party and participate in elections scheduled for later this year. The party has been banned by Ben Ali in 1989 because it finished second in national elections.

The leader of the movement, Rashid Ghannouchi (no relation to the former prime minister), returned to Tunisia on January 30 after more than two decades in exile.