Police on Thursday fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse a demonstration in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, birthplace of last year's revolution, an Agence France Presse journalist reported.

One person was wounded by a rubber bullet and four others affected by the tear gas were taken to the town's hospital, an official there said, adding that none of them were in a serious condition.

An unholy brawl between rival hardline Islamists, some wielding knives, broke out in a Tunisian mosque, after hungry members of one group broke their fast a few minutes early, state media reported on Tuesday.

The bust-up occurred on Monday when followers of a certain Salafist scholar began to eat within the precincts of the Hidaya mosque in Beja, northern Tunisia, shortly before the evening call to prayer, which signals the end of the daily Ramadan fast, the TAP news agency reported.

An unholy brawl between rival hardline Islamists, some wielding knives, broke out in a Tunisian mosque, after hungry members of one group broke their fast a few minutes early, state media reported on Tuesday.

The bust-up occurred on Monday when followers of a certain Salafist scholar began to eat within the precincts of the Hidaya mosque in Beja, northern Tunisia, shortly before the evening call to prayer, which signals the end of the daily Ramadan fast, the TAP news agency reported.

Tunisia's state of emergency has been extended by just one month, rather than the usual three, due to an improvement in the country's security situation, the president's office announced on Tuesday.

It is the sixth time the state of emergency has been extended since it came into force on January 14, 2011, when a mass uprising prompted veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to flee the country.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday said Washington was ready to help Tunisia develop its capacities to combat al-Qaida, and urged closer regional cooperation in fighting the terror network.

"The U.S. Department of Defense stands ready to help Tunisia to ensuring regional stability, to strengthen the capabilities of its defense institutions," Panetta told reporters after meeting President Moncef Marzouki.

Tunisian Finance Minister Houcine Dimassi has resigned following a disagreement with the policies of the government led by Islamist Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, an official said on Friday.

"I can confirm the resignation, which has been accepted," Ridha Kazdaghli, an aide to Jebali, told Agence France Presse.

Tunisian police fired warning shots and tear gas on Thursday to disperse protesters who attacked provincial government headquarters in the town where the country's revolution was born, Agence France Presse reported.

Dozens of people, angry over their living conditions, converged on the building in Sidi Bouzid and set fire to a tire, which they threw inside.

The mother of Mohammed Bouazizi, the street vendor whose self-immolation sparked Tunisia's revolution, was given a suspended four-month jail term on Friday for insulting an official, the justice ministry said.

Manoubia Bouazizi, 60, was handed the suspended sentence after being convicted by a court in the central western town of Sidi Bouzid of insulting an official, ministry official Mondher Bedhiafi said.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki vowed on Tuesday to guarantee ex-strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali security and a fair trial as he visited France in a bid to restore strained ties.

At a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande, Marzouki said he could guarantee "physical security" and "a fair trial" for Ben Ali, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia after he was toppled in a popular uprising last year.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki arrives in France on Tuesday for a visit aimed at rebuilding strained ties with the country's former colonial ruler in the wake of its popular revolution.

Keen to win diplomatic support and maintain strong trade relations, Marzouki meets President Francois Hollande on Tuesday and on Wednesday will address the National Assembly -- the first foreign leader to do so since European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in 2006.