Tunis: Tunisia on Friday began national mourning for victims of the "Jasmine Revolution" - a week after the ouster of veteran ruler Zine Al Abidine Bin Ali in the Arab world's first revolt in recent history.
Flags flew at half-mast and state television broadcast prayers from the Quran for the 78 people that officials say were killed when security forces began cracking down on a wave of social protests that began last month.
Committees set up by the country's new leadership to organise democratic elections, investigate the repressions of the old regime and probe corruption allegations against the Bin Ali family were set to meet later on Friday.
Meanwhile there were calls on Facebook - which has been used to spread the word about the protests - for more demonstrations after Friday prayers.
Protests have continued in Tunisia even after Bin Ali's ouster because of widespread resentment against the ex-ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), which has dominated the political scene for decades.
Many Tunisians are calling for the outright abolition of the RCD and want party members put on trial, but others say the revolution has gone far enough.
Some protesters managed to break into the RCD's imposing headquarters in central Tunis on Thursday and tear down the party's insignia.
"The people today are expecting and calling for a settling of scores," the independent daily Le Quotidien said in an editorial on Friday.
A newspaper owned by a key old regime figure, Le Temps, said: "There has to be a middle way between a security and economic situation that is currently very fragile and the aspirations for freedom and democracy."
Meanwhile state television reported that weapons had been seized in the home of a member of Bin Ali's family, with images showing sniper rifles, pistols, and hunting rifles apparently buried in the garden of his villa.
