Tunisian police placed two former allies of ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali under house arrest on Sunday, according to an official. The crackdown against his former cronies marked the latest moves by the tenuous interim government to respond to an incessant groundswell of opposition to his old guard.
Weeks of public upheaval and the shooting deaths of some protesters by police on orders from Ben Ali's government helped send him fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also calling on Tunisia's new leadership to enact speedy economic and political changes toward democracy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
