Tunisian President Ben Ali Flees Country Amid Unrest

Tension Grips Tunisia's Capital After Leader Flees -- Time Magazine

As dusk fell on this gracious, tree-lined capital, Tunis was a city under siege — but the man who had ruled Tunisia with an iron fist for 23 years was gone, driven out by a popular revolt that may rock the entire region. I had landed in Tunis just moment before President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country, shutting down the airport and prompting declaration of a state of emergency. I saw a city empty except for the hundreds of riot police occupying the streets. The main boulevard, Habib Bourghiba Avenue, was shut, with soldiers peeking from the gun turrets of tanks, their rifles pointed outwards. The choking smell of tear gas hung over the evacuated streets, where hundreds of shoes lay scattered on the sidewalk having been abandoned by people fleeing a police assault just an hour earlier. Bits of brick broken from large flower pots lining the streets were everywhere, having been hurled by protestors. Young plain-clothes security police outside the Ministry of the Interior building — the power center of Ben Ali's regime — prowled the streets, wielding makeshift batons made of table legs and wooden stakes.

Read more ....

More News On The Unrest In Tunisia

Tunisians drive leader from power in mass uprising -- Yahoo News/AP
Veteran Tunisian leader quits after protests -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Tunisian president toppled after 23 years in power -- Yahoo News/AFP
Tunisians Drive Leader From Power in Mass Uprising -- ABC News
Tunisia riots: President Ben Ali flees as chaos hits country -- The Telegraph
Tunisian PM Assumes Power after President Ousted -- CBS News
Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced to flee Tunisia as protesters claim victory -- The Guardian
Tunisia president quits after protests -- The Independent
Tunisian PM takes over as interim president as Ben Ali flees -- CNN
Tunisian President Dismisses Government Amid Massive Riots -- FOX News
As protests continue, Tunisia's prime minister says he's taking over -- L.A. Times
Tunisian President Ben Ali flees country amid unrest; prime minister takes reins -- Washington Post
Tunisia crisis: as it happened -- The Guardian
Tunisia: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali forced out -- BBC
Live: Tunisia turmoil -- BBC
More Riot Deaths in Tunisia, Tourists Evacuated -- CBS News
In pictures: Tunisia unrest -- BBC
Tunisia Pushes Out Its Strongman: Could Other Arab Countries Follow? -- Bruce Crumley, Time Magazine
Tunisia unrest a wake-up call for the region -- Ian Black, The Guardian
Exit Ben Ali - but can Tunisia change? -- Prof Emma Murphy, BBC