Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, facing the worst unrest of his rule, said he would not run again when his term ends in 2014, prompting scenes of celebration in the streets of the capital.

Ben Ali, only the second head of state Tunisia has ever had and in office for over 23 years, set his departure date in an emotional televised speech made after weeks of deadly clashes between protesters and police.
   
Many of those involved in the protests said they were fed up with unemployment, a lack of liberty and the huge wealth of a tiny elite under Ben Ali, and they were expecting that he would try to extend his rule for another, sixth term.   

In the Lafayette district in the center of Tunis, where a few hours earlier police had shot and wounded protesters, hundreds of people ignored a curfew and came into the streets after Ben Ali's speech ended.

People waved Tunisian flags and chanted "Viva Ben Ali!" and "Thank you Ben Ali!" while cars sounded their horns.

"We are happy because he spoke the language of the people. We hope that all the bad memories will be left in the past and we will have only freedom," said Ramzi Ben Kraim, a 22-year-old student.

Soon after Ben Ali's speech, Internet sites which for weeks had been blocked, including YouTube and Dailymotion, started working.

It was still not clear though if Ben Ali's opponents would view him as a lame duck and try to force him out immediately.  There was also no obvious candidate to succeed Ben Ali, who had dominated political life in Tunisia and sidelined rivals.

In the impoverished provincial cities that have been the heartlands of the protest movement, there was calm after days of protests and in one town, Tataouine, about 4,000 people took to the streets to salute Ben Ali's decision, a witness said.   

But there was still anger in Gassrine, scene of some of the deadliest clashes with police. "The people here cannot be happy because our town is gravely wounded," said local man Mohsen Nasri by telephone.   

"There were some good things in the (president's) speech but we expected an apology for our town."        

Ben Ali appeared on television at the end of a day when the unrest appeared to be slipping out of his government's control.   

Protesters fought running battles with police in the center of the city of the first time, and witnesses said youths ransacked upmarket shops in the chic holiday resort of Hammamet, where Ben Ali himself has one of his residences.   

Ratcheting up the international pressure, former colonial power France for the first time criticised Ben Ali's handling of the protests.Several countries, including the United States, advised citizens to stay away, threatening the tourism trade which is Tunisia's economic lifeblood. - Reuters