Tunisia Building Anti-terrorism Wall On Libyan Border
TUNIS, Tunisia, July 9 (UPI) — A wall between Tunisia and Libya is under construction, Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said in an interview Wednesday.
Tunisia Building Anti-terrorism Wall On Libyan Border
The 100-mile wall on the border is one of the security measures Tunisia has taken to separate itself from Islamist militants harbored in Libya. Extremist acts, including the shooting of 21 people in March at a Tunis, Tunisia, museum, and July’s killing of 38 at a resort beach at Sousse in June, have shaken Tunisia’s security and economy.
A state of emergency was declared, and 1,300 armed guards are now patrolling Tunisia’s beach resort communities.
The barrier is already under construction between Ras Jedir, on the Mediterranean coast, and the town of Dhehiba, and will be completed by the end of 2015, Essid said. He acknowledged, though, that securing the entire 310-miole border with Libya will be “difficult, very difficult.” He told a national television audience Wednesday Tunisia was at war with terrorism, the porous border and Libya’s political instability the country’s major problems.
“We have 500 kilometers of borders with Libya, most of them are desert and we need special technical equipment to control those borders that we do not have. Unfortunately, Libya is not doing its role in fighting terrorism. There are many armed organizations within Libya that are like states within a state, there are two governments, one recognized internationally and one that is not, plus there is foreign interference from different countries with different agendas.”
Tunisians comprise the largest percentage of foreigners who have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight for the Islamic State. Although Tunisia is hailed as an example of democracy in the Arab world, the government has not stopped excessive unemployment, reformed its oppressive system of state security or prevented rogue preachers from stirring animosities.
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