Angry members of the security forces on Friday drove Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki and Prime Minister Ali Larayedh away from a memorial ceremony for two slain policeman.

Angry members of the security forces on Friday drove Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki and Prime Minister Ali Larayedh away from a memorial ceremony for two slain policeman.

The security force members, some of them in uniform, shouted "Get out" at the Tunisian leaders, obliging them to leave the official ceremony at the military barracks in the Tunis suburb of L'Aouina.

Marzouki and Larayedh, as well as parliamentary speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar, left after about 20 minutes of jeers from the crowd, without any of them addressing the gathering.

"We won't accept the presence of politicians," shouted one of the protesters, who carried placards demanding laws to protect the police.

Only the interior minister, Lotfi Ben Jeddou, was able to attend the ceremony for the two men killed on Thursday by an armed group in the Neja region, 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of Tunis.

Earlier, the interior ministry spokesman said security forces had killed several members of the group suspected of carrying out Thursday's attack, which also left one policeman wounded.

This was the first time police representatives have directly blamed Tunisia's top leaders, who normally attend memorial ceremonies for police and soldiers killed in combat.

Since December, security forces have been tracking a group of militants allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda in the Chaambi mountain region along the Algerian border, with some 15 soldiers and police killed in the operations.