What’s behind Libya-Tunisia border closure? - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

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Tunisia and Libya are facing a crisis over migrants seeking to reach Europe. </h2> </div> <div class="node__meta"> <div class="node__meta_first"> <div class="node__author"> <div class="node__author_photo"> <img class="image" src="https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/IMG_9342.jpg?h=502e75fa&itok=hsMyFzZN" alt="Adam Lucente" /> </div> <div class="node__author_data"> <div class="node__author_name"> <a class="link" href="/authors/adam-lucente.html" > Adam Lucente </a> </div> <div class="node__dates"> Mar 19, 2024 </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="node__meta_last"> <ul class="list list--social-icons"> <li class="item"> </li> <li class="item"> <a class="link" href="https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.al-monitor.com%2Foriginals%2F2024%2F03%2Fwhats-behind-libya-tunisia-border-closure" > <svg class="icon" > <use xlink:href="/themes/custom/alm/dist/icons.svg?v1.0#facebook"></use> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="item"> <a class="link" 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article_hero_medium 72123" width="1280" height="720" class="image" >  <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_large/public/2024-03/GettyImages-1235312508.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=WpbzMnmC 1x" media="all and (min-width: 1280px)" type="image/jpeg" width="1440" height="810"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2024-03/GettyImages-1235312508.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=6sLqhbID 1x" media="all and (min-width: 720px)" type="image/jpeg" width="1280" height="720"/> <source srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_small/public/2024-03/GettyImages-1235312508.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=KaMNory0 1x" media="all and (max-width: 719px)" type="image/jpeg" width="720" height="405"/>  <img class="image" src="/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2024-03/GettyImages-1235312508.jpg?h=827d3341&itok=6sLqhbID" alt="A picture taken on Sept. 17, 2021, shows people queuing to cross into Tunisia through the Libyan Ras Jdeir border crossing." /> </picture> </div> </div> </div> <figcaption class="figure__caption"> A picture taken on Sept. 17, 2021, shows people queuing to cross into Tunisia through the Libyan Ras Jdir border crossing. — MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images </figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="node__tools"> <div class="node__tools_inner"> <ul class="list--translation-links"><li><a href="/zh-hans/originals/2024/03/libiyayutunisibianjingguanbibeihoudeyuanyinshishenme" class="section-title--s" hreflang="zh-hans">简体中文</a></li><li><a href="/es/originals/2024/03/que-hay-detras-del-cierre-de-la-frontera-entre-libia-y-tunez" class="section-title--s" hreflang="es">Español</a></li></ul> </div> </div> <div class="node__content"> <div class="text-long"><p>Authorities closed a border crossing between <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/08/tunisia-libya-strike-deal-stranded-sub-saharan-african-migrants">Tunisia and Libya</a> overnight on Monday as security issues and the migrant crisis continued to plague both countries.</p><p>The Libyan Interior Ministry said in a statement Tuesday morning local time that “groups outside the law” attacked the Ras Jdir border crossing with Tunisia.</p><p>“This action carried out by these outlaw groups will not be tolerated, and legal measures and the most severe penalties will be taken against those involved,” read the statement.</p><p>The ministry did not provide further details.</p><p>Footage on social media, purportedly of the incident, showed a burned vehicle as well as people running amid sounds of gunshots.</p><figure><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ar" dir="rtl">🎥 اطلاق نار .. مجموعة مسلحة تابعة " للغرفة العسكرية زوارة " تعتدي على دوريات الداخلية في معبر راس اجدير . <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ليبيا</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B5%D8%AF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#المرصد</a> <a href="https://t.co/NnbkcBrell">pic.twitter.com/NnbkcBrell</a></p>— صحيفة المرصد الليبية (@ObservatoryLY) <a href="https://twitter.com/ObservatoryLY/status/1769847963356987485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </figure><p>Libyan Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi ordered security officials to travel to Ras Jdir to combat smuggling and security violations in response to the incident, the official Libyan News Agency reported on Monday.</p><figure><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Border crossing at Ras Jdir راس جدير between Libya & Tunisia closed due to armed clashes- Tunisia sent forces security forces to border at weekend to combat smuggling <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ليبيا</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%AA%D9%88%D9%86%D8%B3?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#تونس</a><br> <a href="https://t.co/TH2df2CZw0">pic.twitter.com/TH2df2CZw0</a></p>— sebastian usher (@sebusher) <a href="https://twitter.com/sebusher/status/1770048966513639931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </figure><p><br>The Tunisian news agency Tunis Afrique Presse reported on Tuesday that Tunisian authorities closed their side of the crossing overnight following “skirmishes” on the Libyan side.</p><p>Some Libyan social media accounts claimed the attack was carried out by an armed group named after the city of Zuwara.</p><p>Zuwara is a predominantly Berber-speaking city east of Ras Jdir. Berbers, or Amazigh people, are indigenous to North Africa and speak their own language that is distinct from Arabic.</p><p>There have been reports of tensions in the area recently. The Libyan Observer reported in November of last year that some Amazigh leaders opposed the deployment of Libyan state security forces near the city.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> Border tensions between Libya and Tunisia are not new. Tunisian President Kais Saied's crackdown on illegal migration last year led to an <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/09/libya-human-traffickers-turn-tiktok-promote-services">influx of migrants</a> getting stuck at the border between the two countries. In July, Tunis and Tripoli agreed to jointly provide shelter to hundreds of migrants at Ras Jdir.</p><p>Both Tunisia and Libya are common points of origin for people seeking to irregularly sail to the European Union.</p><p>The issues have continued since the agreement. The World Organization Against Torture said in December that migrants going through Tunisia face arbitrary detention and expulsions toward the Libyan and Algerian borders.</p><p>The Tunisian National Guard said nearly 70,000 migrants were intercepted while trying to get to Italy by way of Tunisia in 2023, more than double the figure in 2022, Agence France-Presse reported in December.</p><p>Last month, Tunisia's coast guard recovered the bodies of nine people whose boat sank off the coast of Zarzis near the Libyan border, The Associated Press reported at the time.</p><p><strong>Know more:</strong> Libya has experienced security issues since the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. The civil war in the country ended in 2020, paving the way for a transitional government. However, <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/08/libyas-political-crisis-runs-deeper-israel-debacle">nationwide elections</a> that were initially scheduled for late 2021 have been indefinitely postponed.</p></div> <section class="section section--article-topics section--article-grid section--constrain"> <div class="section--heading section--heading--constrain"> <div class="section--heading__start"> <h3 class="h3 h3--section-title h3--section-container-heading"> Related Topics </h3> </div> <div class="section--heading__end"> </div> </div> <div class="section--content section--content--constrain"> <a class="button button--topic" href="/contents/trending-topics/border-disputes" > Border Disputes </a> <a class="button button--topic" href="/contents/trending-topics/tunisia-elections" > Tunisia elections </a> <a class="button button--topic" href="/contents/trending-topics/eu-mideast-ties" > EU-Mideast ties </a> </div> </section> </div> </article> <div class="block views-element-container"> <div><div class="js-view-dom-id-8c2a67913b15d64f077945d64831c025dd82d6e37bf3a618d7cef6f8d2e3d939 view--related-articles view--related-articles--block_1"> <section class="section section--related-articles section--node-full section--full-width"> <div class="section--content section--content--full-width"> <div class="scroller"> <div class="scroller__header"> <div class="scroller__header_start"> <h3 class="h3 h3--section-title u-margin--none"> Related Articles </h3> <p class="body body--s"> </p> </div> <div class="scroller__header_end"> </div> </div> <div class="scroller__content"> <article class="card card-- card--default card--small"> <div class="card__image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2021-12/GettyImages-124641836.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=UKvbv9hu" width="870" height="489" alt="Saif al-Islam Kadhafi, son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, appears in front of supporters and journalists at his father's residential complex in the Libyan capital Tripoli in the early hours of Aug. 23, 2011." /> </div> </div> <div class="card__heading"> <h2 class="heading"> <a class="heading__link" href="/originals/2021/12/libyan-court-rules-gadhafis-son-eligible-run-president" > Libyan court rules Gadhafi's son eligible to run for president </a> </h2> </div> <div class="card__meta"> <div class="authors"> <div class="authors__avatar"> <a class="link" href="/authors/al-monitor-staff.html" > <picture class="image" > <img class="image" src="https://www.al-monitor.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2021-03/globe.png?h=6464a87b&itok=2ZdBWbNr" alt="Al-Monitor Staff" /> </picture> </a> </div> <div class="authors__name"> <a class="link" href="/authors/al-monitor-staff.html" > <div class="name"> <span class="subtitle--l">Al-Monitor Staff</span> </div> <div class="tagline body--s"></div> </a> </div> </div> </div> </article> <article class="card card-- card--default card--small"> <div class="card__image"> <div class="field field--name-field-image field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2017/06/RTX1PZY3.jpg/RTX1PZY3.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=QgqKRroJ" width="870" height="489" alt="Belongings of dead migrants, which were recovered by the Libyan coast guard, are seen after their boat sank off the coastal town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli, August 27, 2015. 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What’s behind Libya-Tunisia border closure? - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012