Interior ministers from Libya and Tunisia announced on Wednesday their agreement to partially reopen the Ras Jdir border crossing on Thursday morning, with plans for a full reopening on June 20 after a closure of more than three months.
Libyan Interior Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, Emad Trabulsi, stated alongside his Tunisian counterpart, Khaled Nouri, that the border crossing would be reopened “for the interest of the two countries without harming any party.”
In mid-March, the Libyan Interior Ministry closed the border crossing due to armed clashes following an attack by “outlaws.”
Ras Jdir is the major border crossing between the two countries in Libya’s western region. Libyans frequently travel to Tunisia for medical treatment, and trucks carry goods in the opposite direction.
Libya has experienced little peace since a 2011 uprising and remains divided between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing each area. The GNU, which controls Tripoli and the northwestern parts of Libya, is internationally recognized but not by the country’s eastern-based parliament.
“The reopening will be tomorrow for humanitarian cases, special cases that have permits from the Tunisian and Algerian Interior Ministries, and medical cases,” Trabulsi said.
He added that he would meet Nouri on June 20 at the border crossing “to hold a meeting and fully reopen it to all travelers.”
Nouri stated that they had supported the crossing with everything necessary “to facilitate movement and not disrupt travelers from both sides.”
