Tunisia’s interim Leader appointed a new prime minister after PM Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned following anti-government protests which left five people dead over the weekend.

Tunisia’s interim Leader appointed a new prime minister after PM Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned following anti-government protests which left five people dead over the weekend.

Interim President Foued Mebazaa appointed Caid Essebsi, 84, to succeed the 69-year-old Ghannouchi.
"I proposed Beji Caid Essebsi for the position of prime minister, and he has accepted the responsibility," said Mebazaa in a statement sent to local media.

Caid Essebsi "is known for his patriotism, his faithfulness and his self-sacrifice for the benefit of the fatherland," said the president.
He also thanked Ghannouchi for serving Tunisia in difficult times after the ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country to Saudi Arabia in mid-January following 23 years in power.

Security forces again clashed with protesters in Tunis demanding the removal of some ministers of Ghannouchi's interim government before the premier announced his resignation.
"The acts of violence and looting, the unrest and the fires on Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis on Saturday have left five people dead," said an interior ministry statement quoted by TAP news agency.

"These human losses happened during the clashes" with "interior security forces which tried to push back a group of young people armed with knives and stones that tried to storm the interior ministry headquarters."
The statement also said 16 security officers were wounded when stones and other objects were hurled at them.

An investigation is under way to shed light on the circumstances of the deaths and injuries, it added.
The ministry said the "acts committed by these agitators, who do not want Tunisia to be stable... (were) serious."

Ghannouchi’s declaration to quit came just over six weeks as interim prime minister prior to elections expected by mid-July but was "not running away from responsibility", he said.

"I am not ready to be the person who takes decisions that would end up causing casualties," Ghannouchi said.
"This resignation will serve Tunisia, and the revolution and the future of Tunisia," he added.