By Libya Herald staff.
30 November 2014:
The government has given the go-ahead for third Libyan-Tunisian border crossing at Mashhad Salih. It is . . .[restrict]roughly equidistant from the current two crossings, at Ras Jedir on the coast and Dehiba-Wazin in the Jebel Nafusa much further south.
Approval was made at yesterday’s cabinet meeting in Beida. The Tunisian authorities approved the crossing in principle last year.
Calls for the third crossing were originally made three years ago by residents on both sides of the border who believe that it would provide a significant economic boost to the area.
However, it has been opposed by the local authorities in Nalut which effectively controls the Dehiba-Wazin crossing. Last year, the then head of Nalut local council told the Libya Herald that the Mashhad Salih crossing should not be allowed because it was in an area controlled by former Qaddafi supporters and where still moved freely. He called it “a reward for ousted members of the former regime and a punishment for the revolutionaries”.
In fact, it is reported that the third crossing is already open, under the control of Zintani forces and being used as the bridgehead for supplies into Zintan. [/restrict]
