Arafat's widow loses citizenship

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The widow of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has been stripped of her Tunisian citizenship, officials say.

The government in Tunis gave no reason for its action against Suha Arafat, who was born in Jerusalem and became a naturalised Tunisian citizen in 2006.

News reports suggest that Mrs Arafat, 45, has left Tunisia, where she has a home, and may currently be in Malta.

Mrs Arafat had lived in Tunisia since Yasser Arafat died in November 2004 of multiple organ failure.

The order made no reference to Mrs Arafat's 12-year-old-daughter, who also became a Tunisian national in 2006.

Mrs Arafat was born to a wealthy Palestinian Christian family.

She moved to Tunisia to work for Yasser Arafat with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in exile in 1982-1994.

She converted to Islam and they secretly married in 1990, when she was in her late 20s and he was already in his 60s.

According to some reports, the couple had led almost separate lives since Yasser Arafat's return to the occupied territories, each with separate quarters in their home.