One demonstrator is dead and several others injured in violent clashes in the Tunisian capital Tunis over the weekend.

Protesters supporting the hardline Islamist Ansar al-Sharia group fought with police after the government banned the group from demonstrating.

Police fired tear gas and shots into the air to disperse the some 500 protesters who threw stones and rocks at police forces.

The group openly supports al Qaeda and is considered a security threat by the current more moderate Islamic government.