Hollande condemns assassination of Tunisian secular politician

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday condemned "with extreme firmness" the killing of Mohamed Brahmi, a Tunisian deputy and secular opponent. In a statement released by the president's office, Hollande called on "Tunisian different political and social forces to show, than ever needed, a spirit of responsibility to preserve national unity and ensure the continuation of the democratic transition." The French president also sent his condolences to the family's victim and Tunisian people, urging swift investigation on the murder. Earlier on Thursday, 58-year-old Brahmi, who belonged to the nationalist and secular Popular Party, was shot dead outside his house in the capital of Tunis. The assassination was the second in the north African country since former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled in early 2011. In Februray, another secular politician, Chokri Belaid, was assassinated triggering street violence in the country and forcing Hamadi Jebali, a leading member of the Islamist Ennahda party and then the prime minister, to dissolve the government and resign.