Thousands of people protested in Tunis on Friday, mostly supporters of the ruling Islamist party Ennahda, demanding that Tunisia be ‘cleansed’ of corrupt remnants of the ousted Zine el Abidine Ben Ali regime.

The crowd gathered in the Kasbah, the site of government headquarters, calling for administrative purges in the media and political opposition, notably members of the exiled dictator's RCD party that once dominated Tunisian politics, to be speeded up, a journalist reported.

“Tighten the screw,” “RCD get out,” and “The people want the judiciary and media to be cleansed,” were some of the slogans daubed on the placards of the protesters, who also flew Tunisian and Ennahda flags.

The demonstration was organised via social media by an informal movement known as ‘Ekbes’ (‘Get a move on,’ in Arabic) that is close to the moderate Islamist party, with a number of those present arriving on buses from outside the capital.—AFP