Tunisian president draws security powers into dispute with PM

FILE PHOTO: Tunisia's President Kais Saied gives a speech at the government's swearing-in ceremony at the Carthage Palace outside the capital Tunis, Tunisia February 27, 2020. Fethi Belaid/Pool via REUTERS

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Sunday that his powers as commander of the armed forces also cover the internal security forces, not only the army, in the latest escalation of his dispute with the prime minister.

Saied's comments threaten to draw the sensitive Interior Ministry into the political arena and potentially divide the security establishment as Tunisia's young democracy grapples with a coronavirus-induced slump as well as militant Islamists.