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By Libya Herald staff.
24 December 2014:
Libya was given something to celebrate today, the 63rd anniversary of independence, by its neighbours: both . . .[restrict]the Tunisian and Egyptian borders have reopened.
The Egyptian border post was reopened by the Egyptians late yesterday a day after it had been closed by them, ostensibly following a request from the Libyan authorities to do so for security reasons.
According to the Egyptian news agency MENA today, the same authorities had requested the reopening and Egyptian trucks are now heading normally into Libya,
There was no explanation why the Libyan government had seemingly changed its mind. However, despite the Libyan crisis, large numbers of Egyptians still try regularly to cross into Libya illegally in search of work and, yesterday, MENA reported that the Egyptan army had arrested 154 Egyptians and six Sudanese attempting to do so.
The Tunisian border was closed on 18 December ahead of the second round on Sunday of the country’s presidential elections, to ensure there were no problems surrounding the vote and it was announced at the time that it would not reopen until midnight tonight. In the event the election went ahead peacefully and the Tunisians authorities appear to have decided that conditions permitted the two border posts border to reopen a day early.
Traffic is said to be moving normally without hinderance in both directions and security good.
Despite this, the Tunisian Interior Minister Lotfi Ben Jeddo warned today that militants from Ansar Al-Sharia were planning infiltrate Tunisia from Libya and carry out terrorist operations.
It is not known whether he was referring to Libyans. The movement of militants (and weapons) at present across Libya’s borders is not so much out of Libya as into it. Moreover, it is claimed that there are considerable numbers of Tunisians among Ansar’s ranks in Libya.
Ben Jeddo may have had these in mind. [/restrict]
