Four suspects have been arrested in connection with Belaid's murder The French Ambassador in Tunisia, François Gouyette, has called for the killers of the assassinated opposition leader Chokri Belaid to be brought to justice, it has been revealed today. The news comes after the country’s Interior Minister, Ali Larayedh announced on Tuesday that four suspects had been identified and arrested in connection with Belaid’s murder. All the suspects are believed to be hardline religious Salafists, said Larayedh.
Belaid, who was the leader of the liberal Democratic Patriots Party, was shot dead on February 6 while getting into a car. The assassination sparked a wave of protests across the country, with demonstrators demanding that the killers be caught and punished.
Meanwhile, Tunisia’s political class were quick to condemn Gouyette’s announcement today, labelling the move an “insistence by France to cram her nose in Tunisian affairs", say local media sources.
Also, a spokesperson for the Asalah Salafist Party, Molde Ali Mujahid , has rejected claims that the suspects involved in Belaid’s murder known Salafists, insisting he was not aware of any Salafi involvement in the assassination.
Molde threatened to sue “anyone who accuses the party without conclusive evidence”.
In other news, a security source told Arabstoday that police officers in the Nabeul province of northern Tunisia stopped a car carrying Kalashnikov guns and live ammunition. Suspects in the car are still believed to be on the run.
This is the latest cache of weapons to be found on civilians in the country, after revelations emerged last week of a significant stash, containing TNT explosives and RPG rocket launchers, was found in a house in Tunis.