Tunisian president ousts government in move critics call a coup

A man reacts as police officers detain a demonstrator during an anti-government protest in Tunis, Tunisia, July 25, 2021. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisia's president dismissed the government and froze parliament on Sunday in a dramatic escalation of a political crisis that his opponents labelled a coup, calling their own supporters to come onto the streets in protest.

President Kais Saied said he would assume executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister, in the biggest challenge yet to the democratic system Tunisia introduced in a 2011 revolution.