Tunisian opposition leader shot dead, party member says, 2nd assassination this year

July 25, 2013 at 12:25PM

TUNIS, Tunisia — A member of Tunisia's opposition People's Movement party says its leader has been shot dead.

Lawyer Khaled Khichi said from the hospital that Mohammed Brahmi was shot dead Thursday morning.

It is the second assassination of an opposition politician following the murder of leftist politician Chokri Belaid in February.

That assassination prompted the resignation of the prime minister and a political crisis that nearly derailed Tunisia's transition.

The government has blamed Belaid's assassination on Islamic extremists.

Brahmi, an Arab nationalist, held a seat in the assembly charged with writing the new constitution.

Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, is struggling with a democratic transition after the overthrow of its dictator in 2011.

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