Supporters of a hardline Islamist group have clashed with Tunisian police as the government banned the group's annual rally.

Violence broke out in the central city of Kairouan and in the capital Tunis. The government said it barred the Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia from holding its annual rally because it posed a threat to public security.

The government also arrested its spokesperson Saifeddine Rais. Ansar al-Sharia, which openly supports al- Qaeda, is considered the most radical of the Islamist groups to emerge in Tunisia since the 2011 conflict.

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