Tunisian police fired shots into the air on Thursday to try to disperse hundreds of protesters demanding that ministers associated with the rule of ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali leave the government.

The protesters, who gathered outside the Tunis headquarters of the RCD, Tunisia's ruling party for several decades, refused to move back when police fired shots from behind a metal fence.

For the first time since the fall of Ben Ali last week, there were also protests in other towns across Tunisia.

The protesters on Mohamed V Avenue near the centre of Tunis, chanted: "After Ben Ali and his wife, we want to bring down his thieves!" They also burned the logo of the party and carried banners saying: "Government out!"

One of the protesters, who gave his name as Aymen, said: "We are here, we are not going to move until the RCD falls. We will come every hour and every day."

At the RCD headquarters, workmen were removing the large plaque from the outside of the building bearing the party's name, a Reuters reporter said.

Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday after weeks of violent unrest spurred by anger over poverty, unemployment and repression. The popular revolt was seen as sending shockwaves through autocratic governments across the Arab world.

The central committee of Ben Ali's RCD power base has been dissolved, state television reported, saying the decision was taken as many committee members, who were also government ministers, had quit the party under opposition pressure. The party itself will continue to operate, the report said.