Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, faced the prospect of fresh political turmoil Thursday after an opposition leader was shot dead outside his home, in the country’s second political assassination this year.
Mohammed Brahmi, 58, the leader of the Left-wing nationalist Movement of the People party, was killed after being hit by 11 bullets fired by two gunmen as he sat in a car in the capital, Tunis.
The attackers sped off on a moped after the incident, which was witnessed by Mr. Brahmi’s wife and daughter.
Another Left-wing politician, Chokri Belaid – who belonged to the same Popular Front coalition as Mr. Brahmi – was killed in a similar incident in February in an assassination the government blamed on Islamic extremists. The latest murder, coinciding with the 56th anniversary of Tunisia’s independence, threatened to plunge the North African country deeper into instability as Mr. Brahmi’s supporters gathered in…
View original 215 more words
