The killings marked the deadliest in a wave of unrest, which has lasted nearly a month. Those taking part say they are angry at the lack of jobs for young people and what they perceive as a heavy-handed reaction by authorities in controlling the protests.

Officials say the unrest is the work of a minority of violent extremists in a country where President Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali's Rally for Constitution and Democracy (RCD) largely dominates the political landscape.

They also defended the police saying these only fired in self-defense when violent crowds attacked, ignoring warning shots.

In Rgeb, a central town that has seen some of the worst disturbances, protests were off to a quick start on Monday: Funeral processions for the victims of the clashes turned into noisy protest, witnesses said.

In some areas of Rgeb, anti-riot police clashed with civilians on Monday although there were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the usually-quieter capital Tunis, students staged another march to denounce the police violence while shops in downtown Tunis were open for business and the security deployment there was barely visible.

In the more agitated provincial towns of Thala, Gassrine, Seliana, Rgeb and Meknassi army trucks were sent in to re-enforce police, residents said.

Tunisia's Communications Minister Samir Labidi had told Al-Jazeera television that the military was sent in to protect government buildings and that they would not be confronting the protesters.

Asssabah newspaper reported President Ben Ali would give a televised speech on Monday, his second since the unrest started toward mid-December. Sources said state-television would air the speech at 1300 GMT.

In his first speech, he had warned that violent protests were unacceptable and would hurt national interests.

Labidi, appointed in a minor reshuffle after the unrest began, said on Sunday the government was ready for a dialogue with young people, in the strongest sign to date the authorities may be ready to make some concessions.

President Ben Ali has been in power for more than two decades and re-elected two years ago with nearly 90 percent of the vote. He is Tunisia's second president since the former French colony obtained independence in 1956.

The United States has expressed concern about the government's handling of the protests. There has been no public response yet from the European Union, which is Tunisia's biggest trading partner.

The country of about 10 million people has in the past been praised by Western allies as a model of stability in the Arab world, though some international rights groups accuse it of stifling dissent.

Tunisia is trying to win from main trade partner the European Union an 'advanced status' partnership, which implies a more scrupulous respect of public freedoms. It has recently announced it plans a dual listing of its state-run telecom company Tunisie Telecom on the Paris and Tunis stock exchanges.