Unrest Continues in Tunisia Following Leftist's Assassination - East Idaho News
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Unrest Continues in Tunisia Following Leftist’s Assassination

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GETTY W 2713 TunisiaProtest?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1360317156301FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images(TUNIS, Tunisia) — Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali’s attempts at quelling civil unrest following the assassination of an opposition leader aren’t going over very well.

On Wednesday, Jebali announced that he would form a new government free of political affiliations in an effort to stop demonstrators’ clashes with police.

However, the prime minister’s party, Ennahda, has disagreed with his decision and is calling for a minor reshuffling of government officials.

Now, Jebali is caught in the middle of a feud that threatens to spin out of control.  Meanwhile, a funeral is planned on Friday for opposition leader Chokri Belaid, who was gunned down earlier in the week outside his home in the capital of Tunis.  A pro-Ennahda “militia” is considered a suspect in the murder.

Belaid, who helped lead a leftist coalition, was critical of Tunisia’s moderate Islamist government.

It was in January 2011 that pro-democracy demonstrations forced the resignation of Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.  The revolution ushered in what came to be known as the “Arab Spring,” a movement that has had monumental repercussions throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa since then.

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