Ruling Islamist movement Ennahda and the opposition Nidaa Tounes said Sunday they have held secret talks in Europe to try to find a way out of Tunisia's political crisis.

Nidaa Tounes leader, ex-premier Beji Caid Essebsi, a sworn enemy of the Islamists, met Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi while on a European tour last week, his center-right party said in a statement.

Turkey's clout in the Middle East is taking a beating with the brutal sidelining of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood derailing Ankara's hopes to lead a regional surge of Islamist political power, analysts say.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was an early supporter of the 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak and subsequently nourished close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tunisia's political crisis showed no sign of being resolved on Thursday, amid warnings against a slide into the carnage that has swept fellow Arab Spring country Egypt since democratic polls.

Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist party Ennahda that heads a coalition cabinet, slammed the opposition as "anarchists" for demanding the resignation of Tunisia's elected government.

More than 24,000 immigrants landed on Italy's shores in the last year, the interior minister said Thursday, but insisted the situation had not reached a crisis point.

Almost 9,000 arrived in a single 40-day period between July 1 and August 10 this year, Angelino Alfano told reporters.

Supporters of Tunisia's Islamist-led government rallied Tuesday to mark national women's day ahead of an opposition protest, as the president proposed a national unity cabinet to end a protracted crisis.

The government, led by the Islamist Ennahda party, and its detractors have been locked in a bitter feud sparked by the July assassination of an opposition politician, the second such killing this year.

Tunisia's army on Monday bombarded suspected jihadist positions in a rugged mountain range near the Algerian border, as it kept up operations against Islamists following a deadly ambush on troops.

The offensive was launched on August 1, after eight soldiers were found with their throats cut after being ambushed by militants, and at a time of deep political crisis in Tunisia.

Tunisia's ruling Islamist Ennahda party and the opposition have called for rival rallies on Tuesday to mark local women's day, reflecting deepening divisions in the strife-torn North African country.

The country is in the grip of a political crisis sparked by the murder of an opposition politician last month, the second such killing this year.

The ruling Islamist party Ennahda called for rallies on Tuesday to mark Tunisian women's day, deepening the crisis with the opposition which has also called for anti-government protests.

In a statement published Monday Ennahda urged its supporters to gather from 1500 GMT on Habib Bourguiba avenue, epicentre of the 2011 Arab Spring born in Tunisia.

The head of Tunisia's ruling Islamist party Ennahda is to meet the powerful UGTT trade union chief on Monday on the crisis sparked by the killing of an opposition politician.

The UGTT said that its head, Houcine Abassi, would meet Ennahda leader Rached Ghannouchi and Mustapha Ben Jaafar, speaker of the National Constituent Assembly.

A coalition of Tunisian opposition parties intends to propose next week a cabinet of independents to end the political crisis shaking the country, one of their number said Saturday.

"The National Salvation Front will continue to work toward a government of national salvation and make its proposals on independent figures to constitute it next week," said Karima Souid, from the Massar party.