- A group of Swedish men say they were stopped on the streets and beaten
- Tunisia's prime minister says a deal on a unity government is coming soon
- Tunisians protested for weeks over what they said were poor living conditions and repression ADDITIONAL SNAPSHOT LINK
Tunis, Tunisia (CNN) -- A new Tunisian government could be announced Monday, one day after the country's army clashed with armed gangs and remnants of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's personal guard.
Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after ruling the country for 23 years. His ouster followed weeks of protest over what Tunisians said were poor living conditions, high unemployment, government corruption and repression.
Public protests continued Monday, as about two thousand people packed into a major road in Tunis. As the demonstrators tried to work their way toward the headquarters of the ruling party, police opened fire with tear gas.
Opposition officials told CNN there were other peaceful demonstrations in towns in central and southern Tunisia.
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Unrest in Tunisia The demonstrations were triggered by the suicide of an unemployed college graduate, who set himself ablaze in December after police confiscated the fruit cart that was his source of income.
Recent diplomatic cables from the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia obtained by WikiLeaks revealed growing discontent, especially over nepotism within the government.
WikiLeaks published a 2009 cable recounting a lavish dinner for the U.S. ambassador given by Ben Ali's son-in-law, a prominent businessman. The dinner featured ice cream and frozen yogurt flown in from Saint Tropez, the diplomat said.
Experts say the kinds of protests seen in Tunisia could inspire similar actions, particularly by unemployed young people, in other Arab nations.
In Cairo, Egypt Monday, a man set himself on fire in front of the parliament building, an Interior Ministry official said. The man, Abdo Abelmonem Gafr, has burns on his face but is alive and not badly hurt, said ministry spokesman Alla Mahmood. Gafr is a baker from a town 150 kilometers (93 miles) outside of Cairo, Mahmood said. Gafr's age and motives were not immediately known.
Meanwhile, a group of Swedish hunters visiting Tunisia said Monday they were stopped on the streets near Kasserine and beaten.
Some of the men's eyes were swollen and blood-filled. One man had apparently been beaten on the back, and another man had a head injury. They met with CNN Monday morning.
"To be fair, when we look back, we can understand that our guns scared them," said one of the men, Ove Oberg.
The men said by the time the army came and understood the hunters were tourists, they had been badly beaten.
"If the army didn't find us, we would have been dead," Magnus Josefsson said.
Cecilia Julin, a spokeswoman for Sweden's Foreign Ministry, said a group of 13 Swedes had been hunting wild boar. Their taxis were stopped while they were returning to their hotel in Tunis, Julin said. She said at least three Swedish nationals had been taken into police custody.
A video posted on YouTube and Facebook shows the apprehension of a man in Tunis on Sunday who says on the video that he is Swedish.
Tanks patrolled the streets of Tunis on Sunday, two days after enraged protesters caused Ben Ali to flee the country. Government troops appeared to be in control of the presidential palace in the seaside suburb of Carthage on Sunday evening, but sporadic gunfire continued around the neighborhood as night fell, said Mohamad Guiga, a nearby resident.
"It is a battle zone," Guiga told CNN by telephone from his home, about 1 kilometer (half a mile) from the palace. "From time to time, we hear some shooting," he said. The sound is very clear, he added.
On Sunday night, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi -- who has been leading the government since Friday -- said on Tunis TV that a deal to form a new government -- with members of the opposition in the cabinet -- was near.
Abdel Latif Abid, a human rights lawyer and an opposition party founder, said the new government was expected to be announced Monday, with three opposition leaders holding ministry posts.
Among those Abid said would be joining the government was Mustapha Ben Jafar, who is expected to serve as health minister. Earlier, Jafar said opposition leaders don't want to be a fig leaf for the ruling party, but want an active role in running Tunisia after more than two decades of authoritarian rule.
"The most important thing for me is to build during this period the basis for a democratic Tunisia where all the citizens participate and where we can build a civic society -- this is what I spent 40 years of my life working for," Jafar said.
Meanwhile, police made more arrests Sunday, including looters and some of the deposed president's relatives. Imed Trabelsi, the nephew of the ousted president, was detained along with 23 other relatives, Tunis TV reported.
Troops also exchanged gunfire with armed gangs near the headquarters of an opposition party, Abid said. But Guiga said most Tunisians are happy with Ben Ali's ouster and have rallied to each other's aid since the uprising.
"We are proud of those people -- simple people, young people, normal people -- who take care of each other," Guiga said.
Human rights groups and unions have said more than 50 people were killed in the protests before Ben Ali fled. At least 42 more died when a blaze swept through a prison in the eastern city of Monastir. The cause of the blaze had not been determined.
Meanwhile, Tunisians armed with sticks and knives have joined forces to guard their neighborhoods, stopping suspicious cars near their homes. Security forces did not have the manpower to guard the suburbs, they say.
And a French photojournalist died Sunday morning in Tunis, according to his uncle, who said Lucas Mebrouk Dolega "was dedicated to his career and he was always very brave."
"He was at the heart of major events happening around the world," Hamid Lhorri told CNN, though he did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding his nephew's death.
Fouad Mebazaa, a former parliament speaker, was named acting president Saturday. He promised to restore stability and respect the Constitution of the north African country. Tunisian state TV reported that officials plan to hold presidential elections in 60 days.
Restrictions on internet use, including filters on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube, that were put in place under Ben Ali have been dropped, and the new government has vowed to ease restrictions on freedoms.
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