Tunisia: curfew eased, incidents possible on Friday.

The areas affected by the curfew are the governates of Tunis, Ariana, Manouba, Ben Arous,Sousse,Jenouba which has seen extensive rioting for sometime,Monastir and the governate of  Ben Guerdane.

In the worst rioting since the end of the revolution the toll is one dead and 100 wounded including  62 police and law enforcement officers injured. 22-year-old Fehmi Aouini, a university student, died of his wounds on Wednesday after being shot in the head during clashes between security forces and Salafists.Interior Minister Ali Larayedh  also accused former Ben Ali loyalists and criminals of being involved in the violence.

Following the attack by Salafists on the art gallery opf La Marsa the Minister of Culture Mehdi Mabrouk said while the government supports the freedom of expression, it is opposed to any insults to religion.The gallery has been closed.

In Sousse the palace of fine arts was attacked  by firebombs as were a number of police stations and the Trade  Union headquarters of the UGTT. As attacks happened simultaneously they were obviously coordinated following the video message attacking the Ennhada led government by Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al -Zawhiri, whom Hamadi Jebali the Prime Minister called   "a catastrophe for Islam and Muslims."

A radical imam, Abou Ayoub is reported to have called for radical Salafists to rise up against "those who mock islam". The government has issued clear statements against acts of  Salafist violence but it will now have to stand firm and act to ensure order is maintained.

Supportive statements  came from teh American Ambassador ,Robert D. Hormats who reiterated US support for Tunisia and French SME's issued a statement saying they were determined to stay in Tunisia, but following the exodus of a number of foreign companies earlier in the year, the government can have little doubt that it has to act to save Tunisia's economic future .