One man was killed in clashes with police in the Tunisian capital overnight, witnesses said, after crowds defied a curfew aimed at bringing a halt to the north African country's worst unrest in decades.
In the provincial town of Sidi Bouzid, where the unrest started nearly a month ago, witnesses said several thousand people marched through the streets chanting anti-government slogans.
People taking part in the unrest say they are angry about unemployment, corruption and what they say is government repression. Officials say the protests have been hijacked by a minority of violent extremists who want to undermine Tunisia.
The latest official count for the number of civilians killed in the unrest is 23. But witnesses told Reuters on Wednesday another five were killed, while the United Nations said rights groups put the toll at almost 40.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Tunisia should investigate the deaths. "Clearly that is a result of some excessive measures used, such as snipers, the indiscriminate killing of peaceful protesters," she said.
The government has said police have only fire in self-defence when rioters attack with petrol bombs and sticks. It also says death tolls from rights groups are inflated.
President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, struggling to contain the biggest challenge to his rule since he took office over 23 years ago, sacked his interior minister and ordered the release of arrested rioters.
A night curfew for Tunis and suburbs began at 8pm local time last night, the first time it had come into operation. But for several hours after that, crowds in at least two neighbourhoods of the city threw stones at police and ransacked buildings,
Reuters