Tunisian opposition politician Chokri Belaid has been shot dead outside his home in the capital, Tunis.
Relatives say Mr Belaid was shot in the neck and head on his way to work.
He was a prominent secular opponent of the moderate
Islamist-led government and his assassination has sparked protests in
towns around the country.
President Moncef Marzouki is cutting short a visit to France
and has cancelled a scheduled appearance at a summit in Egypt to return
home.
Tunisia is currently gripped by a political
crisis as talks on a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle to include a wider
range of parties in a coalition led by the Ennahda party have broken
down.
BBC Arabic's Wafa Zaiane says this is the first time a
political leader has been assassinated since the Arab Spring uprising of
January 2011, in a country where political assassinations are rare.
Speaking in front of the European Parliament on his visit to
Strasbourg, President Marzouki said the murder of Mr Belaid should not
affect Tunisia's revolution.
"There are many enemies of our peaceful revolution. And they're determined to ensure it fails," he said.
Referring to Mr Belaid as a "long-standing friend", he said his "hateful assassination" was a threat.
"This is a letter being sent to us that we will refuse to
open. We reject that message and we will continue to unmask the enemies
of the revolution," said the president, who was to participate in the
summit of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Cairo on Thursday
and is instead returning home directly from Strasbourg.
'Death threats'
According to AFP news agency, people torched the premises of
the Ennahda party in the central town of Mezzouna, and ransacked the
party's offices in the mining town of Gafsa in protest at Mr Belaid's
death.
In Tunis, crowds have gathered outside the interior ministry
chanting they want a "second revolution", the BBC's Sihem Hassaini in
the city says.
There are also protests in Sidi Bouzid, the town where the
revolution that toppled Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali from the presidency
began a little more than two years ago.
"More than 4,000 are protesting now, burning tyres and
throwing stones at the police. There is great anger," Mehdi Horchani, a
Sidi Bouzid resident, told Reuters news agency.
It is not known who is responsible for the attack on the politician.
Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said his murder was an "act of
terrorism" and promised to pursue all efforts to "immediately" arrest
the murderer.
Mr Belaid was the co-ordinator of the left-leaning Democratic
Patriots party, part of a group of opposition parties which has been
challenging the government since it came to power following the
country's first post-Arab Spring election in October 2011.
"This murder robs Tunisia of one of its most courageous and
free voices," French President Francois Hollande said in a statement.
On Saturday, Mr Belaid accused "mercenaries" hired by the
Ennahda party of carrying out an attack on a Democratic Patriots
meeting.
The Paris-based France 24 TV station has reported that Mr Belaid reportedly received recent death threats.
It said that he died in hospital after being shot by "three men in a black vehicle".
"My brother was assassinated. I am desperate and depressed," Mr Belaid's brother Abdelmajid Belaid told AFP.
Correspondents say that although Mr Belaid's party did not
have a large share of the election vote, it spearheaded popular concern
over the rising level of political violence in Tunisia.
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