Summary:

On 6 May 2024, the Acting Libyan Minister of the Interior Mustapha Trabelsi reached an agreement with Tunisian authorities to re-open the Ras Jedir bordering crossing, which had been closed since March. Cross-border traffic resumed on 7 May. 

Trabelsi met with President Kais Saied as well as Tunisian Minister of the Interior Kamel Feki, providing assurances that the border would not be used for smuggling or irregular migration. 

The primary land border crossing between Libya and Tunisia had been closed on 19 March following armed clashes between local tribes and security forces affiliated with the Tripoli-based government. 

Outlook: 

With goods smuggling and irregular migration creating massive illicit profits for many people who live and work near the Ras Jedir border crossing, the arrangements necessary to secure a re-opening unsurprisingly took weeks to finalize. 

With Libya’s Tripoli-based government looking to secure additional control over the crossing which has long been managed locally by more informal networks, a re-shuffling of local power dynamics was necessary. Time will provide further indications of the fragility of the current arrangement, particularly on the Libyan side of the border. 

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