Thousands protest in central Tunisia

Thousands of Tunisian protesters have taken to the streets of the central city of Sidi Bouzid, calling on the remaining figures of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s regime to resign.

The protesters chanted, “No to the theft of the revolution! Yes to the resignation of the government,” on Thursday, AFP reported.

Sidi Bouzid is where the first revolt of the country took place last month.

Ben Ali’s 23 years of dictatorship, which was marred by repeated human rights violations and torture, ended earlier this month after weeks of street protests.

In the latest development, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a global arrest warrant for Ben Ali and several of his family members.

Tunis bureau of Interpol put the warrant into effect on Wednesday and urged the member states to search for, locate and detain Ben Ali and six of his family members.

The alert follows an arrest warrant by the country’s interim government for the overthrown ruler.

Tunisian Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said that Ben Ali and his relatives are wanted on charges of illegally taking money out of the country and acquiring real estate and other assets abroad.

Ben Ali’s wife, Leila, who is on the list too, is said by the French media to have abandoned the country with millions of dollars worth of gold.

The accused are believed to have assets of various types in France, where prosecutors have launched a probe into the family’s property.