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By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 6 February 2016:
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has warned that any foreign military intervention in Libya could . . .[restrict]have disastrous consequence for his own country. The warning came the same day as Tunisia announced that it had completed a 200-kilometre long border security barrier designed to prevent terrorists and smugglers freely moving back and forth across the frontier.
“Countries considering military intervention in Libya must take into account the interests of neighbouring countries, first and foremost Tunisia and consult with us,” President Beji Caid Essebsi said on Thursday to members of the diplomatic corps in Tunisia.
There a series of mixed messages from a number of western leaders recently about possible intervention in Libya. Despite reports that the UK, France, Italy and the US are agreed on the need to take military action against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Libya, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius this week firmly denied his country intended to do so. However, at the end of last month Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said that all were prepared to fight IS in the country if no national unity government emerged from the current talks to invite them to take action.
Rejecting any foreign intervention Libya, Essebsi said a unity government had to happen soon. “We see no other horizon for the settlement of the Libyan crisis, except the implementation of the Libyan political agreement and the formation of a government of national accord,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Tunisian Defence Minister Farhat Horchani announced today that the country had completed it barrier of water trenches and raised embankments designed to prevent illegal incursions. It was, he said, an important day in the fight against terrorism and had taken only four months to complete instead of the year as expected..
The barrier, stretching from the coast to the southern border crossing at Dehiba, would soon be equipped with an electronic detection system provided by the US and Germany, he added.
“US and German military and technicians will travel to Tunisia to install these equipment and train members of the Tunisian army,” the Tunisian news agency TAP quoted him saying. Agreements with the two countries would shortly be signed to allow the presence of foreign military officers in the country, he noted.
There exists a noxious terrorist synergy linking Libya and Tunisia. Several thousand Tunisian terrorists have crossed into Libya to train and fight with IS there or head on to Syria and Iraq. In the other direction Libyan weapons have moved into Tunisia for use by terrorists there. [/restrict]
