Tunisian Baathist claims to be assassination target

Secretary-General of the Baath Movement in Tunisia, Othman Belhaj Omar The secretary-general of the Baath Movement in Tunisia has claimed that he is on the hit list of several extremist organisations .Othman Belhaj Omar told Arab Today that he discussed the matter with Workers' Party leader Hamma Hammami at the funeral of late Tunisian opposition leader Mohammed Brahmi.
"I know that I am on the extremists' hit list. Confidential sources told Hamma Hammami that myself and Mohammed Brahmi were among the top targets," he said.
Omar said that he did not ask the interior ministry to protect him, because it would be hard to back up his claims with concrete evidence.
Meanwhile, the National Salvation Front is continuing negotiations to choose a prime minister to lead the rival salvation government. Opposition sources told Arab Today that former defence minister Abdel Karim al-Zubaidi and ex-president of the Tunisian League of Human Rights Mukhtar Tarifi were among the leading candidates.
The Popular Front (PF), the Union for Tunisia and several members of the civil society met on Sunday in Tunis to form a national salvation body tasked with examining the situation in the country and identifying appropriate solutions.
Popular Front spokesman Hamma Hammami said that the parties were planning to end the ruling Troika's tenure and form a national salvation government which would lead the country into a transitional period. The opposition official added that presidential and parliamentary elections would be conducted in six months.
The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) held talks with a number of opposition parties on Monday to formulate an agenda for the future direction of the country. Political observers believe that the Union will support the Tunisian opposition and the initiative submitted by the National Salvation Front, following its public strike in a protest against the assassination of Brahmi.