Tunisia to bury murdered opposition leader amid soaring tension

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tunisia is to bury a murdered opposition leader amid huge tension surrounding his assassination, BBC News said.

Towns nationwide are braced for another day of tension and violence as Chokri Belaid is buried in the capital, Tunis. The country's largest trade union has called for a general strike on Friday, February 8.

Protests on Thursday saw police fire tear gas at protesters in Tunis and the central town of Gafsa, as a political crisis deepened with the governing Islamist party refused to back its PM. A police officer was killed during clashes between police and opposition supporters.

The demonstrators want the downfall of the government led by the Islamist Ennahda party, which they blame for Wednesday's assassination of Mr Belaid.

Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali has attempted to defuse tensions by calling for a non-partisan technocratic government but the Islamist Ennahda party which leads the government has refused to accept this.

Wednesday's assassination has exposed many months of tensions between liberal, secular Tunisians and the Islamist led government.

Ennahda denies opposition claims that it was behind the killing. Government critics say that in recent months, Ennahda has allowed ultra-conservative Muslim groups to impose their will and opinions on what was always regarded as a bastion of Arab secularism.