Tunisia Govt in Turmoil After Opposition Assassination

Islamists Rally Against Calls for Resignation

Yet another high profile assassination of a top opposition politician has put Tunisia’s Islamist government in the spotlight in an extremely negative way, and has led to growing calls from secular opponents to resign and hold fresh elections.

The assassination of Mohammed Brahimi led to complaints both of government ineffectiveness in security, and speculation that the Islamist Ennahda Party isn’t interested in stopped attacks by Islamist militants on its political rivals.

The link between Brahimi’s assassination and the February killing of Chokri Belaid aren’t just coincidental, and the Interior Ministry says the evidence points to both opposition figures having been killed with the exact same gun.

Supporters of Ennahda are out in force today as well, condemning the calls for resignation and expressing concern that an Egypt-style coup may take place. Tunisia was the first “Arab Spring” nation, ousting Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, and Ennahda, a Muslim Brotherhood-styled faction, won the elections.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.