Members of the Tunisian branch of radical Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia have clashed with police in the Tunisian city of Kairouan, after the law enforcement attempted to disperse their meeting.

The Ansar al-Sharia congress, planned for Sunday in Kairouan, was banned by Tunisian authorities as posing a threat to public order.

The leadership of the group warned its supporters not to travel to the holy city due to the situation, but vowed to hold their congress nonetheless.

Assembled representatives have barricaded themselves in a mosque in Kairouan's center, throwing stones at police, which has used tear gas in return.

Ansar al-Sharia (Tunisia) was founded in 2011, after the fall of the regime of long-time president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Some of the group's leaders were previously political prisoners of the Ben Ali regime, which was intolerant to radical islamsit groups.

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