Tunisia government gathered in an emergency meeting on Monday as protests sweep the country, few days after the assassination of an opposition figure.
Tunisia government gathered in an emergency meeting on Monday as protests sweep the country, few days after the assassination of an opposition figure.
The government led by Ennahda Islamist party was due to begin crucial talks at 0800 GMT.
For its part, the powerful General Union of Tunisian Labour (UGTT) was to convene in the afternoon "to decide the fate" of the country, its secretary general Sami Tahri said.
The country’s government faces challenges as tensions have spiraled in Tun
isia since the murder on Thursday of MP Mohammad Brahmi, the second opposition figure gunned down in six months.
Many Tunisians blame the government for the two killings, particularly for failing to rein in radical Islamists accused of a wave of attacks since strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in a popular uprising in 2011.
Early on Monday, a group of 30 demonstrators protested outside the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) for a fourth day running, after night demonstrations by supporters and opponents of Ennahda.
Police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, an AFP correspondent reported.
Overnight around 10,000 people demonstrated for and against the government on Bardo Square outside the parliament building.
Police vans and metal barricades separated the two camps as numbers swelled after the iftar meal.
Tunisia's rival protesters have called for more demonstrations outside the parliament building.
But NCA speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar has called for "restraint" and urged deputies to return and resume work on a much-delayed constitution, one of the thorniest issues in post-revolution Tunisia.
Brahmi's murder has fuelled anger across Tunisia and dozens of MPs are boycotting parliament in protest at what many say is the government's failure to track down his killers.
