Education unions strike at university over Belaid assassination TUNIS, Tunisia, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Classes at the University of Manuoba near Tunis, Tunisia, were canceled Thursday following a strike to protest the killing of an opposition political leader. Tahar Mannai, vice dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, told Tunisia Live union members would meet to determine the next steps. Chokri Belaid, 48, a leading opposition leader and government critic, was shot and killed outside of his home in Tunis Wednesday. Belaid, general secretary of the Democratic Patriotic Party, was shot as he was leaving his house. The higher education union members walked off their jobs Wednesday. Violent clashes followed news of his assassination in Tunis as thousands of demonstrators were met by security forces who used tear gas and clubs to disperse the crowds. Tunisia's prime minister prepared to form a national unity Cabinet and the president canceled a visit to Egypt Thursday in the aftermath of the Belaid assassination. Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali called Belaid's assassination a "heinous crime against the Tunisian people, against the principles of the revolution and the values of tolerance and acceptance of the other." Marzouki said "a conspiracy against Tunisia lies behind the assassination of Chokri Belaid to threaten the country's security and stability and sow disorder." Marzouki canceled a Thursday trip to Cairo for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit. The killing -- the first officially confirmed political assassination since the Jan. 14, 2011, overthrow of dictatorial President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali -- spawned protests in Tunis and other cities, including Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of Tunisia's revolution and the ensuing Arab Spring uprisings. He neither specifically said he was dissolving the existing government, nor announce a date for the new Cabinet. The change must be approved by the National Constituent Assembly that is developing a new Tunisian Constitution.