Tunisia's ruling Islamist party, opposition start crisis talks TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's ruling Islamist party and the opposition began talks on Friday to form a caretaker government and prepare for elections under an agreement to end months of unrest in the country that inspired the "Arab Spring" revolts. The North African nation has been in turmoil since July when the assassination of an opposition leader ignited protests that threatened to derail a democratic transition once seen as a model for the region. Ennahda has agreed its government will resign at the end of three weeks of talks to appoint a non-partisan cabinet, which will run the country until elections. The two sides will also set a date for the vote and appoint an electoral commission. "The train out of this crisis is on the tracks, and we are now on the way to finishing our transition to elections," Ennahda chairman Rached Ghannouchi told reporters. Since the fall of its autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia has struggled with a growing split between Islamists and their opponents over the place of Islam in one of the Muslim world's most secular countries. The assassination of two opposition leaders by Islamist militant gunmen this year enraged government critics who blamed Ennahda for being two lenient on hardliners. Once suppressed under Ben Ali, conservative Salafists have become more influential in spreading their hardline message in a state based on strict Islamic law. For many secular Tunisians that threatens liberal education and women's rights. The deaths of seven Tunisian policemen on Wednesday in clashes with Islamist militants further inflamed tensions and forced a brief postponement until now of negotiations scheduled for that day. They had previously been delayed by weeks of political wrangling. Reporting by Tarek Amara; writing by Patrick Markey; editing by Barry Moody