Tunisian fishermen’s arrest results in Ras Jedir border crossing blocked again

By Ajnadin Mustafa.

Tripoli, 28 May 2016:

Tunisians protesting against the arrest of a number of fishermen by the Libyan Coast Guard have . . .[restrict]blocked the road at the Tunisian border town of Ben Guerdane and effectively shut it to Libya traffic. As a result, Libyans are again having to use the longer Wazin-Dehiba route.

The fishermen – numbers vary between 12 and 22 – were reported to have been arrested while in four boats caught in the offshore Bouri oilfield area, some 120 kilometres north of Zuwara. They were taken to Zuwara where they are currently being held.

Said to all be from the port of Zarzis, families and colleague have been blockading the road at the border town 45 kilometres further south, hoping to force the Libyan Coast Guard to free them.

Meanwhile yesterday, the Coast Guard rescued a boat some ten nautical miles north-east of Zuwara carrying 120 illegal migrants. Today it intercepted two boats just seven nautical miles from Sabratha carrying a further 200 people, all from Eritrea and Ethiopia. There were 43 women and 8 children among them. [/restrict]