By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 23 October 2017:
Following calls by civil society organisations in Ghat on Algeria to open the border and send aid to the town, a highly-respected Algerian Tuareg leader has visited the area and backed their demands.
Ibrahim Goma today first met officials and elders on the Algerian side of the border in the town of Djanet to determine the needs of Ghat. He then crossed the border at Tin El Koum to discuss reopening it with Tuareg leaders in Ghat. Apart from asking for Algerian aid, locals in the mainly Tuareg town have particularly called on the Algerian authorities to allow the sick to be treated in Algerian hospitals.
On Friday, several hundred Algerian Tuaregs demonstrated on their side of the border to express their solidarity with the people of Ghat.
In Ghat, Goma is reported to have called for the border to be reopened. However, the call is expected to be rebuffed. Despite regular protestations of solidarity with Libyans, the Algerian authorities on Saturday again declared that with security needs would take precedence over humanitarian issues on the Libyan side of the border.
