Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity and the Minister of Defense convened with Major General Salah al-Namroush, Assistant Chief of Staff, to discuss the operations of the joint military force assigned to secure the Ras Ajdir border crossing, established by the General Staff.
The Government of National Unity’s media office reported that Dbeibeh emphasized the primary goal of ensuring security at the border gate, distancing the effort from political and tribal influences.
He stressed that conveying this message should be the fundamental purpose of the joint force.
Furthermore, Dbeibeh called on municipalities and local dignitaries to support the state in asserting its control over all border crossings without exception.
A decision was made by the acting Interior Minister of the Unity Government, Emad Trabelsi, to form a joint operation room.
This initiative, in coordination with the General Staff and the Attorney General’s office, is tasked with maintaining security and order in the border area with Tunisia, stretching from the northern coastline to the southern limits of the Al Assah region.
Interior Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity in Tripoli, Emad Al-Tripoli, has earlier issued orders to close the Ras Ajdir land border crossing.
This action followed clashes on the Libyan side of the main border crossing between the two countries, located in the far west of Libya near the city of Zuwara.
The clashes erupted yesterday evening between security forces and armed forces from the Zuwara Military Chamber and the law enforcement force recently tasked with supporting security agencies inside the crossing. There have been no confirmed reports of injuries.
In the same vein, Tunisian security authorities have heightened alert levels and mobilized forces in its border provinces with Libya and Algeria.
This move comes following an increase in the number of African migrants from sub-Saharan countries aiming to embark on irregular migration journeys towards the southern coasts of Europe.
The surveillance along the Tunisian-Libyan border has been intensified following recent violent events and exchange of gunfire incidents at the Ras Jedir border crossing from the Libyan side days ago.
Consequently, security authorities in both countries issued a temporary closure order affecting travelers and commercial traffic in both directions.
