During a press conference held on the sidelines of the reopening of the Ras Jedir border crossing, the Libyan Interim Interior Minister, Imad Trabelsi, expressed readiness to collaborate with the Libyan National Army (LNA) in eastern Libya to secure the country‘s borders.
In his remarks, Trabelsi stated, “I am sending a clear and direct message. The Border Guard Unit of the Ministry of Interior is prepared with a force of 5,000 police officers equipped with 1,000 vehicles to move to the borders with Niger, Chad, and Sudan.
The level of fuel and food smuggling from wholesale markets in Tripoli and Benghazi is significant, and there is a large influx of migrants.”
He added, “I am calling on the armed forces in the eastern region to cooperate with us on the shared borders,” referring to the LNA, which controls the southern borders.
Trabelsi emphasized, “Our aim is not political; we are ready to stop illegal migration and work together through an official coordination centre.”
The reopening of the Ras Jedir border crossing, which had been closed for nearly three months, was attended by the Tunisian Interior Minister, Khaled Nouri.
The Ras Ajdir border crossing with Tunisia was reopened following the completion of maintenance and development works.
The ministry shared a video on its Facebook page showcasing the final preparations and arrangements for the reopening of the Ras Ajdir land crossing.
The border crossing had been closed due to security incidents in Libya since March and its reopening for passenger and commercial traffic was postponed several times last month for logistical and security reasons.
The crossing is a crucial economic and commercial lifeline for the border cities, particularly Ben Gardane on the Tunisian side, which relies heavily on the trade of smuggled gasoline and goods from Libyan markets.
