Protestors shout slogans against former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the center of Tunis, Monday, Jan. 17. 2011. Police were seen using tear gas to break up a demonstration on the main... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tunisian security forces fired tear gas to repel angry demonstrators Monday as the country's interim leaders prepared to announce a new government that for the first time will include opposition members. 
 
 Helicopters swirled overhead at the demonstration in central Tunis as authorities haltingly tried to stabilize the North African nation after days of unrest. There were also unconfirmed reports of the arrest or killing of gunmen behind shooting rampages since autocratic President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday. 
 
 "Ben Ali must be judged," read one sign in English at the demonstration, whose protesters soon dispersed. Some were demanding that Ben Ali's ruling party be locked out of any future power-sharing arrangement. 
 
 Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi, a longtime ally of Ben Ali, said a new national unity government was likely to be announced later Monday that would include former regime opponents _ a move that would mark an unprecedented transition of power in the Arab world. 
 
 Many Tunisians were hopeful about the first new government in 23 years but wary of what the future may hold. 
 
 The European Union said Monday it stands ready to help Tunisia become a democracy and will offer economic aid. EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said the 27-nation bloc is willing to "prepare and organize the electoral process" in Tunisia. 
 
 Finance Minister Christine Lagarde of France _ a former colonial overseer of Tunisia _ told French radio that Paris is keeping a close watch on the assets of Tunisians in French banks. 
 
 Shops in the center of Tunis remained shuttered Monday, and police were deployed in force. A semblance of normal daily life returned in other areas of the capital where shops, gas stations, pharmacies and supermarkets reopened. Many people returned to their jobs and others rushed to buy scarce stables like bread, fish and milk. 
 
 Hundreds of stranded tourists were still being evacuated from the country, and foreign airlines gradually resumed the flights that were halted when Tunisian airspace closed amid the upheaval. 
 
 The constitution requires elections in 60 days after the departure of a leader, but one opposition leader told The Associated Press that Tunisian authorities could announce presidential elections in the next six months instead. 
 
 The opposition PDP party has pushed for a later timetable because its leaders feel Tunisians need time to familiarize themselves with the parties so elections can be credible after decades of one-party rule, the official said. 
 
 Nejib Chebbi, a PDP founder and its longtime leader, and two other leaders of opposition parties are expected to gain posts in the new government along with some members of Ben Ali's former regime, the party official, speaking said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. 
 
 Moncef Marzouki, a professor of medicine who leads the once-banned CPR party from exile in France where he has lived for the last 20 years, told France-Info radio he would be a candidate in the presidential election. 
 
 "The question is whether there will be or won't be free and fair elections," said Marzouki, whose movement is of the secular left. 
 
 Whatever emerges, the new leadership will first face the challenge of restoring order. Looting, gunbattles, and score-settling have roiled the country since Friday, when a month of street protests against years of repression, corruption and a lack of jobs brought down Ben Ali. 
 
 Over the weekend, police arrested dozens of people, including the top presidential security chief, as tensions appeared to mount between Tunisians buoyant over Ben Ali's ouster and loyalists in danger of losing many perks. 
 
 Ex-presidential security chief Ali Seriati and his deputy were charged with a plot against state security, aggressive acts and for "provoking disorder, murder and pillaging," the TAP state news agency reported. 
 
 Fierce gunbattles broke out between the two groups around the presidential palace Sunday in Carthage on the Mediterranean shore, north of Tunis and near the Interior Ministry in the capital. 
 
 "We won't be tolerant towards these people," Ghannouchi said. 
 
 The protests began last month after an educated but jobless 26-year-old set himself on fire when police confiscated the fruits and vegetables he was selling without a permit. His desperate act _ from which he later died _ hit a nerve, sparked copycat suicides and focused anger against the regime into a widespread revolt. 
 
 In Cairo, an Egyptian man set himself on fire Monday outside the country's parliament, security officials said, an apparent protest emulating the self-immolation in Tunisia. 
 
 The downfall of the 74-year-old Ben Ali, who had taken power in a bloodless coup in 1987, served as a warning to other autocratic leaders in the Arab world. His Mediterranean nation, an ally in the U.S. fight against terrorism and a popular tourist destination known for its wide beaches, deserts and ancient ruins, had seemed more stable than many in the region. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press Writer Raf Casert in Brussels, Hamza Hendawi in Cairo and Jamey Keaten in Paris contributed to this report. ||||| Image caption Mohammed Ghannouchi was seen as too closely linked to the old regime 
 
 Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has announced on state TV that he is resigning - a key demand of demonstrators. 
 
 He was speaking at a news conference in Tunis, after making a lengthy speech defending his record in government. 
 
 Mr Ghannouchi is seen as being too close to former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled in an uprising last month. 
 
 Mr Ghannouchi, 69, had served under Mr Ben Ali since 1989. 
 
 "After having taken more than one week of thinking, I became convinced, and my family shared my conviction, and decided to resign. It is not fleeing my responsibilities; I have been shouldering my responsibilities since 14 January [when Mr Ben Ali fled]," he said. 
 
 "I am not ready to be the person who takes decisions that would end up causing casualties," he added. 
 
 "This resignation will serve Tunisia, and the revolution and the future of Tunisia," he added. 
 
 At the scene It is exactly what the protesters had been demanding. Mohammed Ghannouchi, had served under the country's old dictatorship, and as far as they were concerned, until he went, their revolution was unfinished. The question now is whether this resignation will be enough to quell the violence. As the news has spread, people have been taking to the streets, chanting and singing of victory. 
 
 Within hours a replacement was named for Mr Ghannouchi - Beji Caid-Essebsi, 84, who served as foreign minister in the government of the late President Habib Bourguiba. 
 
 Earlier in the day, police in Tunis fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse the latest demonstration calling for a new government and a new constitution on a third day of violence. 
 
 Huge protests 
 
 On Friday and Saturday, anti-government protesters held huge rallies calling for Mr Ghannouchi's resignation. 
 
 At least three people were killed in clashes between hundreds of demonstrators and security forces in Tunis on Saturday. 
 
 Tunisia's government had insisted it was introducing reforms as fast as it could, and that it was planning to hold elections by July. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Paul Moss in Tunis: "Police are giving protesters merciless beatings" 
 
 But those promises did not seem to satisfy the protesters, correspondents say. 
 
 The fall of Mr Ben Ali after 23 years in power sparked similar uprisings in the Arab world, including one that led to the downfall of long-time Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February and another under way in Libya. 
 
 The trigger for the protests in Tunisia was a desperate act by a young unemployed man on 17 December 2010. 
 
 Mohammed Bouazizi set fire to himself when officials in his town prevented him from selling vegetables on the streets of Sidi Bouzid without permission.
– Amid huge riots over poverty, Tunisia’s president has decided to dismiss his government, the AP reports. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali intends to call legislative elections in 6 months, earlier than planned. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters calling for Ben Ali’s resignation continued to demonstrate in the capital, prompting police to fire tear gas and lash out with clubs. Twelve were killed in riots last night, NPR reports. Thousands of tourists have been evacuated. Ben Ali has said he’ll quit, but not until 2014; and in a speech last night, he promised to stop using live ammunition against the demonstrators. But these pledges haven’t soothed protesters in the biggest riots since Ben Ali took power 23 years ago, notes the New York Times. Instead, they seemed invigorated by the pledge. Today’s demonstration was the first to include many women, very few of whom wore veils, the Times reports.