Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki's speech on Monday to mark the anniversary of the 2010 anti- government demonstrations that led to the fall of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was met with protests and stone-pelting.

At least 3,000 protesters gathered Monday in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid, where Marzouki, accompanied by parliament Speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar and some government officials, was delivering a speech on the occasion of the second anniversary of the demonstrations.

Waving banners and chanting slogans against the current government, the protesters called for more jobs and investments in the region. Some of them hurled stones at the government officials, who were later evacuated by police from the scene.

Triggered by the self-immolation of fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid on Dec. 17, 2010, anti-government demonstrations erupted across Tunisia, leading to the ouster of Ben Ali.