Two dead after Tunisian police fire at protesters

At least two people were killed and 17 others were wounded in northern Tunisia after police opened fire to quell protesters who threw fire bombs and stones at a police station, an interior ministry source said.

"About 1,000 people gathered in a protest in front of El Kef's police station to demand the dismissal of the head of the police in the city for power abuse while exercising his duties," the source told reporters.

The protesters pelted the station with stones and fire bombs as they tried to occupy its premises, the source said.

"The police fired to prevent the protesters from breaking into the station," the source said.

The interior ministry has arrested the head of the police in El Kef after the incident, which follows the overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last month, an event that has inspired anti-government protests around the Arab world.

Ben Ali, in power for 23 years, fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14 after several weeks of the protests over poverty, corruption and political repression that also saw violent clashes with police and dozens of people killed.

Public confidence in the police has been at a low since the protests, with many Tunisians blaming police officers for killing protesters and associating them with the ousted president.