Tripoli, 3 June:
Tunisia is to start building a fence along its border with Libya, in a move designed to counter smuggling . . .[restrict]operations and illegal refugee flows.
There are just two official border crossings between Libya and Tunisia, at Ras Jedir on the coast, and at Dahiba, some 200 kilometres further south. The Tunisian authorities are to build a section of fencing extending for several kilometres on either side of each.
Smuggling is also known to take place across the border at Ghadames, at the very southern point of the Libya-Tunisia border, although there is no road directly into Tunisia from the town, which also intersects with the Algerian border. There has been no announcement that a fence will be built there.
Illegal smuggling between Tunisia and Libya has worsened since last year’s revolution, in part because of Libya’s comparatively weak security infrastructure. [/restrict]
