By Sami Zaptia.
London, 14 August 2019:
The Ras Jadair Central Security Department of Tripoli’s Interior Ministry has blamed the 27-hour delays at the Libyan-Tunisian land border crossings squarely on the Tunisian side.
The long waits have been growing over the Eid Al-Adha (feast of sacrifice) holiday period that started from the preceding weekend last Thursday afternoon.
The Tunisians have been criticised for not distinguishing between the ill, children and elderly waiting to enter Tunisia on the Libyan side.
The Libyan authorities claim that they are not responsible for the inordinate delays who are being held up after Tunisian customs and car registration checks as a result of the Tunisians disabling the scanner device.
The extraordinary delays have led to speculation that the delays are premeditated by the Tunisian side for unknown security reasons. This is especially since the delays seem to be coordinated in both the Wazen and Ras Jdair crossings.
The passenger experience on the Libyan side has been described as ‘‘miserable’’ in view of the lack of basic facilities such as shaded car parks, clinics, hotels, cafes, restaurants or even decent toilets.
At the time of publication there had been no comment from the Tunisian side.
