The BBC’s Rana Jawad describes the scene in Tunisia
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Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has dismissed his interior minister and ordered the release of most of those detained during recent protests.
The move is an attempt to quell weeks of angry demonstrations over rising prices, corruption and unemployment.
Mr Ben Ali has also created a special committee to investigate corruption and the actions of some officials, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi has said.
Soldiers are on the streets of the capital as the unrest continues.
On Tuesday, hundreds of youths ransacked shops, set fire to a bank and tried to attack a government building in Ettadamen, a suburb of the capital Tunis.
Human rights activists, meanwhile, said a strike had been called in Kasserine, a region at the centre of the unrest.
Officials say 23 people have been killed since the protests began in the south of the country in mid-December, but human rights and trade union activists believe the number of dead to be at least 50.
People taking part in the demonstrations say they are angry about unemployment, poverty, corruption and government repression.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Ghannouchi revealed that the president had decided to remove Mr Belhaj Kacem, who was responsible for the much-criticised police force.
He will be replaced by Ahmed Friaa.
Rafik Belhaj Kacem had been Tunisia’s minister of the interior since November 2004
Mr Ghannouchi said the president had “announced the creation of a committee of investigation into corruption and to assess the mistakes of certain officials”.
He added: “The president has decided to free all those arrested in the riots.”
The prime minister gave no figure for the number of people being held. Later, the Tunisian ambassador to the UK said those guilty of “criminal activity” would not be released.
The BBC’s Jon Leyne says the announcement is a dramatic change from just two days ago, when President Ben Ali said the riots were a “terrorist act” orchestrated by foreign forces.
But it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to calm the situation, with many Tunisians angered by the number of demonstrators who have been shot dead by the security forces, our correspondent says.
As for corruption, the heart of problem is widely believed to be the president’s family, so there is little faith that the problem is about to be solved by a new committee, he adds.
Earlier, troops were deployed in Tunis for the first time since the civil unrest erupted last year.
Armoured vehicles and soldiers armed with automatic weapons were seen patrolling the city’s main avenues and taking up positions outside key buildings, including the state television headquarters.
The show of force did not, however, stop a group of protesters clashing with police at a main intersection in Tunis on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
There were also reports that security forces were trying to storm the headquarters of the Tunisian Labour Union’s headquarters in Tunis.
In Kasserine, a local trade union official told the BBC that all workers were observing a call for a strike.
Witnesses also told the Reuters news agency that several thousand people had gathered in Kasserine.
Troops have been deployed in Tunis for the first time since the civil unrest erupted
People were chanting “Go away, Ben Ali”, said one witness, Mohsen Nasri. Another said local police officers had retreated to their barracks.
In disturbances in the town on Tuesday, residents said a number of protesters had been shot dead by police snipers. The police said they had only acted in self defence.
The state-owned channel, Tunis TV, also reported that there were “continued riots” in Tozeur on Wednesday. A correspondent said a group of people had set tyres on fire on the town’s main road.
Swiss police, meanwhile, are investigating an attempt to set fire to the Tunisian embassy in Berne. The fire failed to ignite and no-one was hurt.
An anti-government protest was also held outside the embassy in Paris.
“Those who have spoken of 40 or 50 dead should produce a list of names”
Samir Laabidi Tunisian Communications Minister
On Tuesday evening, Communications Minister Samir Laabidi announced the official death toll from the past few days.
“Our numbers say there are 21 dead,” he said, denying reports of a higher number of casualties. “Those who have spoken of 40 or 50 dead should produce a list of names.”
Another two people were killed in clashes last month, officials say. A further two killed themselves in acts of protest.
Mr Laabidi also reiterated the government’s claim that a fringe movement of extremists was fomenting violence, saying that “religious extremist movements and extremist movements from the left” were behind it.
The government would respond with “economic and social reforms and more opening up towards liberty”, he said.
It was the death of a young unemployed graduate on 17 December which triggered the country-wide protests and clashes with the police.
Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself in Sidi Bouzid when local officials prevented him from selling vegetables on the streets without permission.
Demonstrations are rare in Tunisia, where there are tight controls aimed at preventing dissent.
The government’s response to the unrest has been criticised by the EU and the US, which has demanded that freedom of expression be respected.
In its strongest statement on the violence to date, US state department spokesman Mark Toner said it was “deeply concerned by reports of the use of excessive force by the government of Tunisia”.
A spokeswoman for EU foreign police chief Baroness Ashton said the violence was “unacceptable” and that those responsible had to be “identified and brought to justice”.
“We are concerned about the disproportionate use of force by police against peaceful demonstrators,” Maja Kocijancic said.
Mr Ben Ali is only Tunisia’s second president since the country gained independence from France in 1956. He came to power in 1987 and was last re-elected to a five-year term in 2009 with 89.62% of the vote.
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