TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia has stripped the widow of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat of her Tunisian nationality, according to an decree published in the North African country's official gazette. 

Suha Arafat, who became a naturalised Tunisian citizen last year, had lived in Tunisia since Yasser Arafat died in November 2004, though Arab media reported she had recently moved to Malta. 

"Tunisian nationality was withdrawn from Madam Suha Arafat ... who was born in Al Quds on July 17, 1963," said the decree, issued in the Tunisian gazette earlier this month. 

Removing nationality is a rare event in Tunisia. The gazette did not give any reason for why Suha Arafat's nationality had been withdrawn, and it was not immediately clear what implications the move would have for her. 

Tunisian media did not report on the move, and government officials did not comment on it. 

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

Suha Arafat had lived in a luxury palace in the coastal Carthage district, and enjoyed warm relations with Tunisia's first lady Leila Ben Ali. 

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