DUBAI, February 9 (RIA Novosti) – Thousands of supporters of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party took to the streets on Saturday, a day after mass anti-government demonstrations across the country.
The ruling Ennahda party pushed its supporters to stage a pro-government rally in response to a wave of mass anti-government protests in Tunisia provoked by the killing of prominent secular opposition leader Chokri Belaid on February 6.
Thousands of people attended the funeral ceremony on Friday, which was marred by clashes between mourners and police. More than 100 people were arrested after the clashes, local police said.
As two years passed after the revolution and the ouster of former President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali, Tunisians are unhappy that living conditions have not been improved since then.
Protests swept Tunisia in mid-December of 2010, forcing Ben Ali, who had ruled the country for 23 years, to flee to Saudi Arabia. Tunisians took to the streets again in late February, forcing Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi to resign. The Tunisia uprising set off protests around the Arab world.
