Trade to resume at Tunisia-Libya crossing

Zarzis :Cross-border trade between Tunisia and Libya resumes today after the two countries reached a deal to lift a trade blockade at the main frontier crossing following angry street protests.

The breakthrough came after an agreement was reached late Friday on customs duties for goods passing through Ras Jedir, local governor Tahar Matmati said.

The accord provides for the establishment of a single customs duty for goods, Matmati said, adding that a joint monitoring committee was to oversee the deal.

Libyan border officials halted all freight traffic through the crossing at the end of April in an attempt to stop the smuggling of fuel, which is much cheaper across the border.

The closure sparked demonstrations on the Tunisian side and a strike on Wednesday in the impoverished town of Ben Guerdane, where the economy is heavily dependent upon trade with Libya, both legal and contraband.

On Monday, police used tear gas to disperse a protest by hundreds of demonstrators.

Ben Guerdane, one of the North African nation’s poorest towns, was also hit by jihadist violence in March from across the border that killed seven civilians and 13 security personnel as well as 55 extremists.

On Saturday, Libya’s LANA news agency cited an official in the Libyan town of Zwara as saying passenger traffic had already been fully restored.

Tunisia has built a 200-kilometre (125-mile) barrier stretching about half the length of its border with Libya in an attempt to prevent militants from infiltrating.