Tunisian officials sacked in wake of engineer’s murder

By Yousri Wannas

TUNIS

Three Tunisian government officials were relieved of their responsibilities Thursday following the assassination last week of a Tunisian aviation engineer in the southeastern city of Sfax.

According to a statement issued by the prime minister’s office, those dismissed included Sfax Governor Al-Habib Chaouat; Al-Habib Haydar, the city’s security director; and Mohamed al-Sagheer, national security chairman for the southern Sfax area.

The move comes one week after Mohamed al-Zawari, a Tunisian aviation engineer, was shot dead outside his home in Sfax.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, later said that al-Zawari had played a leading role in the group’s drone development program.

In a statement, the Brigades said al-Zawari had worked with the Palestinian resistance for at least a decade and blamed Israel for his murder last week.

Hamas has yet to provide evidence for the accusation, but Israel is widely believed to have killed numerous Palestinian resistance activists in past decades, many of them overseas.

On Wednesday, the Tunisian authorities ordered three suspects who had been detained earlier -- including one woman -- to remain in custody on suspicion of involvement in al-Zawari’s death.

By Yousri Wannas

TUNIS

Three Tunisian government officials were relieved of their responsibilities Thursday following the assassination last week of a Tunisian aviation engineer in the southeastern city of Sfax.

The move comes one week after Mohamed al-Zawari, a Tunisian aviation engineer, was shot dead outside his home in Sfax.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, later said that al-Zawari had played a leading role in the group’s drone development program.

In a statement, the Brigades said al-Zawari had worked with the Palestinian resistance for at least a decade and blamed Israel for his murder last week.

Hamas has yet to provide evidence for the accusation, but Israel is widely believed to have killed numerous Palestinian resistance activists in past decades, many of them overseas.

On Wednesday, the Tunisian authorities ordered three suspects who had been detained earlier -- including one woman -- to remain in custody on suspicion of involvement in al-Zawari’s death.