Tunisia reinforces Libyan border security

Tunisian-Libyan border Tunisian security sources on Tuesday confirmed that the Ministries of Interior and Defence pushed for security reinforcements at its border with Libya in case of any emergency that may take place on the occasion of the first anniversary of the February 17 revolution. Border guards increased operations at the gates between the two countries, as clashes renewed between Libyan authorities and forces loyal to the former regime. The Interior Ministry recently declared dismantling a terrorist cell that received training in Libya and was involved in the Bir Ali Ben Khalifa incident at the beginning of February.
On a phone call with ‘Arabstoday’ an eyewitness from the governorate of Tataouine, on the border with Lybia, said: “We witnessed intense deployment of army and security forces on Tuesday in the town of Rakba that lies 750km south east of Tunisia.”
Tunisian news portal Attounissia meanwhile said that a number of security forces were kidnapped by Salafi groups to pressure the Tunisian government to release Libyan detainees imprisoned in Tunisia on charges of smuggling weapons and unlawful border crossing.
Earlier in a press conference, the Minister of Interior said: “There were numerous endeavOuRs to smuggle weapons from Libya to Tunisia in cars across desert routes and iron gates through which more than two million people have crossed during the war at Libya, 300,000 of which are still in Tunisia."
He explained that the high traffic on the gates was an opportunity for the entry of prohibited items that are difficult to recognise.
The Libyan revolution has reportedly led to the smuggling of over one million pieces of weaponry, which many see as a threat to neighbouring countries like Tunisia and Algeria. The former chief of Tunisian lawyers Al-Bashir Al-Sayd, who is an outspoken opponent of the war in Libya, said on the radio: “The risk that endangers Tunisia today is the leakage of weapons from Libya, which was allowed by the previous government, and Tunisa has started to suffer its consequences.”