[The Nation (Nairobi)] Tunisia sacked its interior minister and deployed troops in Tunis today as weeks of violent protests reached the capital and two people were reported killed in fresh festivities further south.Security forces fired tear gas on hundreds on demonstrators in the heaviest protests yet in the capital after weeks of protests erupted in mid-December in the worst unrest against the authoritarian regime in more than 20 years.
"Shut down (your stores), shut down," bystanders urged street vendors as police fired tear gas at the entrance of the souks (markets) of the Medina in Tunis' old city where hundreds of youths chanted anti-government slogans.
In a sign of increasing government concern after rioting in Tunis overnight, troops took up positions early today at major intersections and the entrance to the city's Ettadhamen quarter where riots broke out late Tuesday.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi announced the dismissal of interior minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem, responsible for the police, amid criticism that security forces used excessive force against demonstrators.
The government says 21 people were killed in three days of unrest in the western Kasserine region, but labour unions and rights groups said more than 50 were dead.
Two more people were reported killed by police in the central town of Douz, where violence erupted for the first time in the spreading unrest.
Another four or five people were maimed in the gunfire, a witness told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Troops deploying in Tunis took up positions around the headquarters of the state broadcaster and a central tramway station.
Extra police and special intervention units also stood guard in a central square.