Tunisia Salafists clash with police in Jendouba

Some of the most radical branches of the ultra-conservative Salafists seek Sharia law

Hundreds of Salafists have clashed with security forces and attacked a police station in a Tunisian town.

The clashes, in Jendouba, were sparked when the ultra-conservative Muslims began protesting against the arrest of four fellow Muslims.

The number of those who took part, some armed with clubs and Molotov cocktails, swelled to 500 during the day.

After setting fire to the security headquarters, the group attacked bars and stores selling alcohol.

The group were angered by the arrest of fellow Muslims in connection with previous attacks on alcohol sellers.

"This morning, four men were arrested in connection with attacks on alcohol vendors in recent days," Interior Ministry official Lutfi al-Haydari told Reuters.

One eyewitness in the town said some of the rioters were armed with petrol bombs.

"Masked Salafis armed with swords, petrol bombs and rocks attacked shops in the town and destroyed the goods inside and then set fire to the police station," the witness, who declined to give her name, told the news agency.

"The whole town is in a state of alarm and fear because of these clashes."

The country's official TAP news agency said police had fired tear gas to disperse the protesters who eventually took refuge in a mosque.

Since the fall in January 2011 of Tunisia's autocratic leader, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, there has been a resurgence of hardline Islamists in the country.

Some of the Salafists' most radical branches have been holding demonstrations to demand an introduction of Sharia law in Tunisia.

The violence came a week after Salafis attacked bars and other places selling alcohol in Sidi Bouzid, the central western town where the Tunisian revolution began, inspiring a wave of pro-democracy movements across North African and the Middle East.