One of the protesters' demands Saturday was for the resignation of regional Governor Ahmed Ezzine Mahjoubi. The AFP news agency reported that one potential outcome of a deal between the national government and the country's biggest trade union envisages sidelining, but not removing, him and putting his deputy in charge.

As protests had entered their fifth straight day in the town of Siliana, national guard forces fired tear gas and rounds from armored personnel carriers. In the town, northwest of Tunis on the edge of the Sahara, police chased protesters down to arrest them.

"Get out, get out!" chanted the protesters, who numbered about 3,000 and threw stones at security forces. "Siliana will be the graveyard of the Ennahda party"

Post-revolution blues, battles

The Islamist Ennahda party, which won Tunisia's first post-revolution election last year, has struggled to revive the economy, affected by lower trade with the crisis-hit eurozone. Disputes continue, too, between secularists and Islamists over the country's future.

On state television on Friday, President Moncef Marzouki asked Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, an Islamist, to appoint a new Cabinet in response to the protests. The state news agency, TAP, then reported on Saturday that a deputy had been put in charge of the governorate of Siliana's affairs pending a "final decision."

The town of Bargou, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of Siliana, also saw protests against the governor and for financial aid and the withdrawal of police. Precarious conditions, widespread unemployment and police brutality had also been the primary factors behind the revolution to topple Ben Ali in January 2011, helping touch off revolutions across the Middle East and North Africa.

'International standards'

On Friday, Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, had said that authorities must stop using firearms against demonstrators.

Amnesty International also weighed in: "Authorities must respect the right to peaceful assembly and ensure that the police adhere to international standards on use of force and firearms."

At least 252 people have been wounded by the use of birdshot, according to TAP. Medical sources told the news agency Reuters that 17 people have been blinded.

The government formed an independent commission to investigate the unrest, TAP reported.

mkg/dr (AFP, Reuters)