Tunisian soldiers have attacked loyalists of ousted leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali holed up in the presidential palace, a security source said, as the struggling interim leadership prepared to announce a new government.
"The army has launched an assault on the palace in Carthage, where elements of the presidential guard have taken refuge," the senior source told AFP on condition of anonymity, as an eyewitness reported heavy gunfire in the area.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi meanwhile vowed there would be "zero tolerance" against anyone threatening the security of the country and said a new government for the North African state "may be" announced on Monday.
An opposition leader told AFP the government would definitely be announced on Monday and would exclude parties close to the disgraced former president, who fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after a wave of protests against his regime.
"There has been a consensus decision to exclude the pro-governmental parties," said Maya Jribi, head of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was "encouraged" by the vows of Tunisia's prime minister and interim president to usher in a new era of "truly representative government."
Ghannouchi held consultations with the leaders of the main opposition parties in Tunis on the formation of a national unity government to fill the power vacuum left by Ben Ali's abrupt departure after 23 years in power.
Ben Ali's ouster has sent shockwaves around the Arab world as he was the first Arab leader in recent history to be forced out by street protests.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Sunday downplayed prospects of the revolt spreading to other Arab countries, calling it "nonsense."
Tunisia has been in a state of chaos since Ben Ali's downfall and observers warned that change will be far from smooth because of the tightly-controlled system of power put in place by the former leader.
Officials on Sunday said they had arrested General Ali Seriati, the head of Ben Ali's presidential guard, on charges of plotting against the state and fomenting an armed insurrection against the new leadership.
"You can't ignore the power of disruption of the presidential security apparatus that was headed up by general Ali Seriati. It has thousands of supporters of Ben Ali," an informed source said on condition of anonymity.
Ben Ali's nephew, Kais Ben Ali, was also arrested along with 10 other people in the central town of Msaken -- the Ben Ali family's ancestral home -- for allegedly "shooting at random" from police cars.
Gunfights also broke out in Tunis near the interior ministry and the headquarters of the PDP opposition party. The army said that two gunmen hiding in a building near the ministry had been shot dead by soldiers.
In the central town of Regueb meanwhile around 1,500 protesters held a peaceful rally in which they slammed the political talks in the capital saying the new government would not be truly democratic, a trade union leader said.
The army broke up the rally as protests are banned under the state of emergency declared in the country on Friday. Regueb was the scene of several violent protests in the run-up to the ouster of Ben Ali.
Two parties banned under Ben Ali -- the Communist party and the Islamist Ennahdha party -- have been excluded from the government talks in Tunis.
The head of Ennahdha, Rached Ghannouchi, who lives in exile in London, told AFP earlier that he now intended to return to Tunisia.
Some cafes had re-opened earlier on Sunday in the centre of Tunis -- the scene of violent clashes in the days leading up to Ben Ali's flight -- as security forces continued their lockdown of the city centre.
"There are major food shortages. We don't have enough bread and flour. We risk a food crisis if this continues," said Najla, who was filling her basket with meat and vegetables at the main market in Tunis.
Long queues were seen outside the few bakeries and groceries open.
A French-German photographer from the EPA agency hit in the head by a tear gas canister during the protests in central Tunis on Friday was said to be "in a critical but stable condition," an official at the French consulate said.
The man, Lucas Mebrouk Dolega, 32, was earlier reported to have died.
A source at the military hospital in Tunis earlier on Sunday said that Imed Trabelsi, a nephew of Ben Ali's, was stabbed and died on Friday.
Tunisia's new acting president, speaker of parliament Foued Mebazaa, was sworn in on Saturday and declared that all Tunisians "without exception" would now be able to take part in national politics and a presidential election is due to be held in two months' time.
Human rights groups say dozens of people were killed after food protests which began last month escalated into a social revolt against Ben Ali.
International powers including European nations and the United States urged calm in Tunisia and called for democracy in the southern Mediterranean country after events that Tunisian Internet users have dubbed the "Jasmine Revolution".
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