Clashes broke out on Wednesday between police and protesters in the Tunisian town of Siliana, one year after riots there left more then 300 people injured, an Agence France Presse journalist reported.

The violence erupted when demonstrators hurled rocks at the police, who threw rocks back at them and then drove into the crowd of protesters to try and disperse them.

A Tunisian court Monday handed suspended four-month prison sentences to a Tunisian rapper and a journalist accused of insulting public officials, and acquitted another musician, their lawyer told Agence France Presse.

"This is an initial victory, because they risked a year and six months in prison," Ghazi Mrabet said, adding that he would discuss the verdict with his clients and advise them to appeal.

Tunisian rapper Weld El 15, on the run since receiving a 21-month jail sentence in absentia in August, will appeal the ruling in court next month, his lawyer said on Friday.

"I have contested the ruling against Weld El 15. The new trial will take place at the court in Hammamet on December 5," Ghazi Mrabet told Agence France Presse, adding that his client would be present.

The head of the U.S. military's Africa Command held talks with Tunisia's Prime Minister Ali Larayedh on security cooperation, notably to stem arms trafficking, the government said Wednesday.

The meeting with General David Rodriguez "was an opportunity to discuss the security issue, ways of cooperating and how the United States can support Tunisia, in terms of equipment and training," Larayedh's office said.

Egypt said Monday its ambassador to Tunisia will return after being recalled in September following the Tunisian president's call for the release of Egypt's deposed president Mohammed Morsi.

Ayman Musharafa was recalled "because of Tunisian officials' unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Egypt," Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty said in a statement.

Some 250 Tunisian protesters gathered Friday outside the government's headquarters demanding the resignation of the Islamist-led ruling coalition, with no end in sight for a months-old political crisis plaguing the country.

At the demonstration, called by the leftists Popular Front, the activists slammed the ruling Islamist party Ennahda, shouting slogans such as: "Government of failure, leave!" and "Poor people you've been had, in the name of religion."

A suspected Islamist militant was killed in clashes in southern Tunisia on Tuesday that also left two policemen wounded during a "huge" security sweep, the interior ministry said.

"Since yesterday (Monday), specialist army units have been carrying out a huge security operation in the province of Kebili," the ministry said.

Tunisia's judiciary has rejected a list of candidates chosen to form a body tasked with organizing elections, a court said Monday, in the latest setback for the country's political roadmap.

The administrative court's decision follows last week's failure by the ruling Islamists and opposition to agree on an independent caretaker prime minister as part of a process to end months of deadlock and prepare for new elections.

A 32-year-old man from a poor neighborhood of the Tunisian capital set himself on fire outside a government building on Monday, the emergency services told AFP.

Suffering third-degree burns to his face, chest and hands, the man was rushed to a specialist medical clinic in the Ben Arous suburb of Tunis for treatment, said emergency services representative Mongi El Kadhi.

Tunisian lawyers on Thursday said the weapon used to kill a prominent opposition MP came from the interior ministry, which they said was concealing a probe into the assassination.

The interior ministry rejected the accusation and condemned what it called "a systematic smear campaign" targeting the security apparatus.