20110118
reuters

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's new coalition government hit trouble on Tuesday when four ministers quit and an opposition party threatened to walk out, undermining efforts to restore stability and end unrest on the streets.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi brought opposition leaders into the coalition on Monday after president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following weeks of street protests.

But key figures from the old guard kept their jobs, angering opposition members of the coalition and street protesters.

Police in Tunis repeatedly used teargas in an attempt to break up a protest by several hundred opposition party supporters and trade unionists who labelled the new government a "sham".

Several hundred people also protested against the new government in Monastir, south of Tunis.

The weeks of protests against poverty and unemployment in Tunisia which forced Ben Ali from office prompted fears across the Arab world that similarly repressive governments might also face popular unrest.

Abid al-Briki of the Tunisian labour union UGTT said its three ministers would withdraw from the government because it included members of Ben Ali's RCD party.

"This is in response to the demands of people on the streets," Briki said.