The spokesman for the Tunisian interior ministry said he had resigned in protest at the lack of transparency in the ministry's dealings with the media.

Neji Ziiri, who had been appointed to his post in February, told AFP that his resignation Saturday had been quickly acceped by Interior Minister Habib Essid, who appointed a high-ranking police officer, Mohamed Hichem Moueddeb, to replace him.

"The causes are purely professional," he said.

He noted that after the popular uprising that ousted president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in January, he had sought to promote a "free and transparent media environment".

"But it became clear that the room for manoeuvre remains very limited so I resigned," Ziiri said.

Tunisian journalists are still complaining about lingering hurdles to genuine press freedom in post-Ben Ali Tunisia.