Tunisia authorities lift curfew after deadly riotsBy AFP | Saturday, June 16   2012 at  10:27

Tunisian authorities lifted a curfew Friday that had been ordered after a wave of deadly violence and rioting involving Islamic fundamentalists and an art show they deemed blasphemous.

In an important test for Tunisia's security forces in the wake of the worst unrest since the revolution that ousted longtime autocratic leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January last year, no major incidents were reported as of late Friday.

"Following the improved security situation and considering the citizens' interests, the defence and interior ministries have decided to end the curfew," an interior ministry statement said.

Authorities on Tuesday had imposed the curfew on the capital and several other parts of the country.

"The security situation is normal throughout the country, there is no reason for citizens to be afraid," interior ministry spokesman Khaled Tarrouche told local radio.

One person was killed and more than 100 injured in the clashes earlier in the week, which also saw police stations and political offices torched, after fundamentalist Salafist Muslims took issue with art works at a Tunis exhibition they deemed offensive to Islam.

The art exhibition in a Tunis suburb featured a painting of a naked woman with bearded men standing behind her and a work spelling the world "Allah" with a file of ants.