TUNIS - Tunisia's largest union cancelled on Wednesday a general strike set for the next day, a move which could calm Islamist-leftist tensions after violent clashes in the capital.
The UGTT union announced the strike last week after several hundred Islamists armed with knives and sticks charged a union gathering and smashed office windows on December 4.Police had to intervene to separate the two groups.
"The strike was cancelled because of a lack of security," UGTT Secretary-General Hussein Abassi said, without giving more details.
The moderate Islamist Ennahda party won elections last year, following the 2010 ousting of veteran leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, but has been struggling to restore security and stability.
A policeman was killed in clashes with suspected Islamist fighters near the border with Algeria on Monday, stoking fears of a spread of militancy in the north African nation.
