Riots

Tunisia Names Its 3rd Leader in 24 Hours

Amid violence and looting.

With three presidents in 24 hours, Tunisia is tumultuous right now. Making matters worse, some say, are loyalists to former President ben Ali suspected of instigating violence in order to discredit the protesters. "It is certain the presidential police are behind all this," a Tunisian analyst said of plainclothes gunmen shooting protesters. "They still hope to regain power." Looting is adding to the chaos. A prison fire killed 57 people on Saturday, and elsewhere 1,000 prisoners were freed after several were killed rebelling. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, driven out by protests over high food prices, unemployment, and political repression, leaving power in the hands of Mohamed Ghannouchi, the prime minister. When protests continued, Ghannouchi handed power over to Fouad Mebazaa, president of the lower house of Parliament.