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Tunisia State Of Emergency: Military Surround Tunis Airport
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by NowPublic Staff | January 14, 2011 at 10:18 am
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Tunis Crisis: President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali Flees To France, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi Takes Over - Tunis Airport Surrounded, Tourists Prepare To Evacuate
The situation in Tunisia is changing rapidly. Within 24 hours President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali declared a state of emergency, declared elections would held in 6 months and it appears President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has fled Tunis for France.
Speaking at a press conference Friday, Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi said that the country's president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, had fled the country, reportedly to France. The prime minister added that he was taking over the government.
Following the president's departure, the Tunisian army seized the airport and closed Tunisian airspace to all traffic.
For the past month Tunisia has been rocked by protests. Tunisian citizens are protest chronically high unemployment and escalating food prices, demanding more open government instead of the closed and corrupt leadership they saw under President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. An estimated 13 people have died in the unrest Tunisian officials say.
Meanwhile, foreign tour operators are evacuating tourists from Tunis and the popular tourist destinations of Hammamet and Douze,
"Although there have been no specific problems for our holidaymakers, their well-being is our primary concern so, as a precaution, we've taken the decision to bring them back to the UK as soon as we can, using our fleet of aircraft today," Thomas Cook said in a statement on Friday.
Thomas Cook said its next planned departures for Tunisia, which were due to take place on Sunday, had been canceled following advice from the Foreign Office.
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