Tunisia's interim President Fouad Mebazza named a new interior minister on Monday, the official TAP news agency said, the latest appointment since the overthrow of leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

TAP said Habib Sid would replace Farhat Rajhi in the post. It said Mebazza made the appointment on the recommendation of Prime Minister Beji Caid Sebsi, without giving details.

Rajhi, a judge, was appointed interior minister earlier this year in the second caretaker administration since Ben Ali left office in January.

He remained in his post when Tunisia's interim authorities appointed a new government on 7 March and disbanded the state security apparatus, notorious for human rights abuses under Ben Ali.

Seeking to assert their authority and gain legitimacy in the eyes of protesters who forced Ben Ali to flee on 14 January, the caretaker authorities are attacking the vestiges of his 23-year rule.

Caid Sebsi unveiled a new cabinet of technocrats rather than career politicians, none of whom had served in previous governments under Ben Ali.

Tunisia has been struggling to restore stability since Ben Ali's departure nearly two months ago.

The protests that led to his overthrow have provided inspiration for uprisings in other parts of the Arab world, but repeated outbreaks of violence have threatened to derail Tunisia's own transition to democracy.

Caid Sebsi, 84, was appointed on 27 February after two previous caretaker administrations collapsed under pressure from protesters demanding that Ben Ali's old guard, including his long-time prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi, be removed.

The new prime minister has said his priority is security.