MASS UPRISING IN TUNISIA DRIVING LEADER FROM POWER

TUNIS, Tunisia – Protesters enraged over soaring unemployment and corruption drove Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali(right photo)from power Friday after 23 years of iron-fisted rule, an unprecedented popular uprising in a region dominated by strongmen who do not answer to their people.

• Tunisians buoyant over Ben Ali's ouster immediately worried, however, about what's next: the caretaker leadership of the prime minister who took control, and the role of the army in the transition.
• The upheaval took place after weeks of escalating unrest fueled partly by social media and cell phones, as thousands of demonstrators from all walks of life rejected Ben Ali's promises of change and mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand his ouster in the country's largest demonstrations in generations.
• At least 23 people have been killed in the riots, according to the government, but opposition members put the death toll at more than three times that.
• On Friday, police repeatedly clashed with protesters, some of whom climbed onto the entrance roof of the dreaded Interior Ministry, widely believed for years to be a place where the regime's opponents were tortured.

With clouds of tear gas and black smoke drifting over the city's whitewashed buildings, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi went on state television to announce that he was assuming power in this North African nation previously known mostly for its wide sandy beaches and ancient ruins.

Source: AP, Yahoo News ..read more