Protests hit Tunis after second assassination of year

Brahmi\'s daughter Belkis joins angry protesters outside hospital where politician died Tunis – Azhar Jarboui A leading critic of Tunisia\'s ruling Islamists, MP Mohamed Brahmi, was shot dead outside his home Thursday in the second such assassination this year , with fingers again pointed at the authorities.
The murder by unknown gunmen sparked angry street protests in central Tunis and the top opposition figure\'s birthplace of Sidi Bouzid where he served as MP.
\"Mohamed Brahmi, general coordinator of the Popular Movement and member of the National Constituent Assembly, was shot dead outside his home in Ariana,\" near Tunis, Watanya state television and the official TAP news agency reported.
\"He was riddled with bullets in front of his wife and children,\" Mohsen Nabti, a fellow member of the small leftist movement, said in a tearful account aired on Tunisian radio.
The interior ministry, cited by TAP, said that Brahmi, a 58-year-old MP and vocal critic of Tunisia\'s ruling Islamists, was assassinated as he left home.
Watanya said Brahmi was struck by a hail of 11 bullets fired from point-blank range.
The family of Brahmi, who had five children, swiftly charged that Ennahda was behind both murders.
\"I accuse Ennahda. It was them who killed him,\" the MP\'s sister Chhiba Brahmi said at the family home in Sidi Bouzid, without providing any evidence.
Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi rejected the charge, calling Brahmi\'s killing \"a catastrophe for Tunisia\".
\"Those behind this crime want to lead the country towards civil war and to disrupt the democratic transition,\" he said.
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay demanded an investigation into the killing.
In Sidi Bouzid, crowds chanted \"Down with the Brothers, down with the people\'s torturers!\"
Thousands also took to the streets of nearby Menzel Bouzaine, where Ennahda party offices were set ablaze.
\"Tunisia is free, Brotherhood out!\" angry demonstrators shouted in Tunis on Thursday, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Ennahda which heads the country\'s ruling coalition.
\"Ghannouchi murderer!\" they chanted.
\"This is a plot against the country, and the government must be held responsible for its lack of vigilance,\" said protester Fethi Mouelhi.
Meanwhile, the Tunisian government is preparing to reveal the names of the killers of opposition activist Chokri Belaid, a minister said on Wednesday. Belaid was gunned down outside his home on February 6 in a brazen attack that shocked Tunisians and sparked a political crisis that brought down the government of Islamist premier Hamadi Jebali. It was the first political assassination in Tunisia since the country gained independence in 1956.
“We have identified the sponsors and the authors of the assassination of Chokri Belaid,” said Noureddin Bhiri, senior adviser to the prime minister, after a cabinet meeting.
Bhiri said the details would be revealed “soon” by Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddou via a press conference, but did not specify when.
The interior ministry blamed the killing of Belaid, who was an outspoken critic of Jebali’s ruling Ennahda party, on a cell of radical Islamists.
Political analysts see Wednesday’s announcement as an attempt by the Tunisian government to placate popular anger, particularly among left-wing groups, by promising to comply to their demand that it reveal the details of the crime.
Belaid’s family has been holding a protest every Wednesday demanding that the authorities uncover the details of the assassination, and threatening of internationalize the case if the Tunisian regime fails to identify the killers.
In April, the government released the photos and names of five Islamists allegedly implicated in the attack, including the alleged gunman, and appealed for help in arresting them.
Bhiri’s announcement followed a cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, which also approved ‘risk bonuses’ for security units and appointed Abdullah al-Waseef as chair of the Tunisia Supreme Islamic Council.
The bonuses were raised from 20 ($12) to 100 Tunisian dinar ($60) per month, and included medical care for military workers.
Tunisia Supreme Islamic Council, which will now be headed by al-Waseef, has been a source of debate between the ruling Ennhada party and its opponents, who warn against the council becoming a religious authority that threatens the civil nature of the Tunisian state. Ennhada insists the council will be used to strengthen the state’s moderate, centrist Islamic foundations.
Additional reporting - AFP