Gunmen shot Belaid 4 times outside his home on Wednesday Tunis – Azhar Jarboui United States and France have condemned the assassination of Tunisian opposition politician Chokri Belaid, as Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki cancelled an official visit to Egypt on Wednesday. Tunisian leftist and Popular Front member Belaid was murdered outside his home by unknown gunmen on Wednesday morning.
“There is no justification for such a terrible act,” a US statement said.
French President Francois Holland meanwhile joined in condemnation, expressing anxiety over the potential for an escalation in political violence in Tunisia.
“Belaid’s assassination deprived Tunisia of one of its most courageous voices,” he said.
A number of Tunisian opposition figures have called for resignations from government and Interior Ministry officials. Popular Front members demanded a national strike in response.
Opposition forces agreed to hold a meeting ahead of escalating measures, in preparation for a February 7 general strike.
Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki meanwhile cancelled an official visit to Cairo’s Organisation for Islamic Cooperation [OIC].
Marzouki condemned the assassination as “a criminal and terrorist act,” claiming that it aimed to “assassination Tunisia and its revolution.”
Leading member of Tunisia’s ruling Islamist Ennahda party, Nahda Riyadh el-Shalaby, expressed the movement’s solidarity with Belaid’s family.
Shalaby denied accusations that Ennahda was behind the assassination, adding the Islamist group was prepared to enter into national dialogue with opposition groups, including Belaid’s Popular Front.
El-Taher Hamila, former Speaker of the Tunisian Parliament, told Arabstoday the current administration would “bear the responsibility” for Wednesday’s assassination.
Analysts have meanwhile expressed fears that Belaid’s murder could be repeated in coming months.