20110115
xinhua

RIYADH/TUNIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi Arabian government confirmed early Saturday the arrival of Tunisia's ousted president and his family in the kingdom.

"We have welcomed in the Saudi kingdom the arrival of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family," the office of King Abdullah said in a statement released by the official SPA news agency.

Ben Ali left the country Friday afternoon after about 8,000 people gathered in the center of the capital to demand his stepping down, the culmination of weeks of protests against unemployment, repression and corruption in which dozens were killed.

On Friday morning, thousands massed in downtown Tunis, chanting and brandishing placards reading "game over" and "Ben Ali is assassin", among others, as shown by the footage of the Qatar-based al Jazeera TV channel.

However, the protests escalated into chaos after the police fired tear gas into the crowd, causing a stampede that reportedly killed four people.

Hours after efforts to reassert control failed, Ben Ali, who had been in power since 1987, signed a decree handing over presidential powers to Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi and flew out of Tunis.

Ghannouchi announced on television Friday that he had taken over the interim government, invoking article 56 of the Tunisian constitution which stipulates that the prime minister ensures a transitional period in case the president is temporarily incapacitated.

"I call on Tunisians of all political forces and from all regions to demonstrate patriotism and unity," said the 69-year-old Ghannouchi, who has served as prime minister on and off since 1999, vowing that he would respect the constitution.

Under the Tunisian constitution, new elections must be held within 60 days.

Tunis has been experiencing an unprecedented wave of social protests since mid-December, triggered by rising food costs and rampant unemployment.

To quell the protestors, Ben Ali announced on Thursday that he would not run for another term in 2014. Previously, he had dissolved the government and announced the holding of early elections within the next six months. But obviously these acts failed to placate the angry protesters.

He then declared a state of emergency earlier on Friday and said protesters would be shot during confrontations with police and imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, after days of violence that spread from provincial towns to Tunis leaving dozens dead, which only further infuriated the protestors.

After the announcement by Prime Minister Ghannouchi that he would act as president until elections are held, there was no evidence of new protests in Tunis, but occasional gunfire could still be heard.

Tunisian airspace was closed and the military have taken control of the country's airports. But it is not clear whether the unrest would end with the ousting of Ben Ali.

State television reported numerous cases of looting in Tunis and in other parts of the country, and the police were calling for calm and urging residents to stay in their homes.

Ben Ali, a 74-year-old former interior minister, came to power in 1987. he was initially hailed by many people for enacting liberal economic reforms, which brought cash and relative stability to the north African country with sandy beaches.

However, he has come under growing criticism for corruption and nepotism, as the general public grew increasingly suspicious and disgusted by the ostentatious wealth owned by members of his family.

People were further outraged after the authorities began firing on demonstrators protesting unemployment and high food prices since mid-December.

The nation-wide protest in Tunisia was ignited by the suicide on Dec. 17 in the southern city of Sidi Bouzid of Mohammed Bouazizi, an unemployed graduate-turned street vendor, who set himself on fire after his fruit cart was confiscated by police for running without a license. The 26-year-old died of burns.