Tunisia-Libya border post reopens after 2-week closure

Tunisia reopened its Ras Jidr crossing with Libya Thursday after Tripoli took steps to prevent the kind of incidents that led to the border's closure two weeks ago, the TAP news agency reported. Tunisian customs officials had not reported for duty since November 30, following a string of incidents and infiltrations involving armed Libyans. Tunis had subsequently demanded that Libya staff its side of the main Ras Jidr border post with state security agents. The Libyan side of the crossing, vital to the area's economy, had been controlled by former rebels who fought to topple Moamer Kadhafi but was not formally under the central government's authority. On December 5, Fawzi Abdelali, the interior minister in the interim administration that took over from the slain dictator, said his forces had reclaimed control of Ras Jidr. Tunisia provided refuge to tens of thousands of Libyan civilians who fled the months of fighting that led to the collapse of Kadhafi's regime in October.