Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said that police arrested some 200 members of the extremist group Ansar al-Sharia in weekend clashes that erupted after a ban on their congress.

Tunisian Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said that police arrested some 200 members of the extremist group Ansar al-Sharia in weekend clashes that erupted after a ban on their congress.

"Those who have been arrested number 200," Larayedh said at the Doha Forum in the Gulf state of Qatar.

The Tunisian leader warned of firm action against Ansar al- Sharia, an organization that he said has links to and is involved in "terrorism".

"This group is engaged in violence, is opposed to the state and revolts" against the authorities, he was quoted as saying by Arabic daily Al-Hayat.
In response, "we will deal with extremism firmly, we will be rigid," said Larayedh, in remarks published by the daily on Monday.

One protester was killed and 15 policemen wounded in the clashes that broke out in Tunis on Sunday after the authorities banned Ansar al-Sharia from staging their annual congress.