20110115
reuters

TUNIS (Reuters) - A surge of anger in the streets over police repression and poverty swept Tunisia's veteran leader from power on Friday, sending a chill through unpopular authoritarian governments across the Arab world.

President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali stepped aside after more than two decades in power and looked to have flown out of the country. His exact whereabouts were unclear.

Ben Ali's prime minister told Tunisians he would steer the state until early elections. The streets of the capital were mostly calm amid heavy security, but analysts questioned whether the change of face at the top would satisfy the protesters.

After days of violence that spread from provincial towns to Tunis, leaving dozens dead as security forces struggled to contain angry young demonstrators, the government declared a state of emergency on Friday and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew.

The last ditch attempt to reassert control failed and within hours it was announced Ben Ali had quit.

The violence and rapid turn of events sent shockwaves across the Arab world, where similar authoritarian rulers are deeply entrenched, but face mounting pressures from growing young populations, economic hardship and the appeal of militant Islam.

"The fall of Ben Ali marks the first ever collapse of an autocratic regime in the face of a popular uprising in the Arab world," said U.S. political risk consultancy Stratfor.

"Leaders across the Arab world, and especially in North Africa, will now look to the Tunisian example with concerns about how the situation could be replicated in their own countries."