02 Jul 2024 | 08:41 AM UTC
Libya-Tunisia: As of July 1, authorities reopened Ras Ajdir border crossing to all activities /update 2
As of July 1, officials reopened Ras Ajdir border crossing on Libya-Tunisia border to all activities after a three-month closure.
The Ministry of the Interior, Emad Trabulsi, affiliated with the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, and his Tunisian counterpart, Khaled Nouri, inaugurated the full reopening of Libya's Ras Ajdir border crossing with Tunisia on July 1. After three months of closure, the border crossing is open to all activities, including human and goods exchanges.
The Ras Ajdir crossing is the main Libya-Tunisia border crossing, used mainly by Libyans to find medical treatment in Tunisia and Tunisian traders to move goods to Libya. Local militia groups, GNU-aligned security forces, and Tunisian authorities will probably maintain a heightened security presence near the border crossing over the coming days. Further protests and armed clashes cannot be ruled out.
Exercise caution if operating in the area. Keep away from locations where security forces may deploy, such as open fields and unpaved roads. Heed instructions issued by local security personnel and your home government.
The Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli closed Libya's Ras Ajdir border crossing with Tunisia on March 23 following armed clashes in the area between local militia fighters and forces aligned with the GNU's Ministry of Interior that injured at least three people late March 18. Tunisian authorities also closed the crossing from their side following the clashes. Clashes erupted as GNU Minister of the Interior Imad Trabelsi is reportedly demanding that local militias cede control of the Ras Ajdir border crossing to GNU authorities so that they can combat alleged drug trafficking and smuggling through it. On June 24, the reopening was indefinitely postponed after protests organized by the Amazigh population of Zuwara closed the access road to the crossing.
