Member of the Municipal Council of Wazan, Munir Said, confirmed in a statement to local media the closure of the Dehiba-Wazen crossing border between Tunisia and Libya because of acts of violence committed by Tunisians on Libyan citizens in protest against suspending the transit of cargo trucks between Libya and Tunisia.
Said added that the Libyan authorities closed Dehiba-Wazen border for fear of a possible reaction by Tunisian traders following the customs procedures recently approved by the Libyan side.
In contrast, a Tunisian security source said that the Tunisian side of the border is open and the movement of people through the border is normal, including Tunisian and Libyans, as well as urgent humanitarian situations, considering that the reason for the closure has nothing to do with the recent restrictions on smugglers, which was adopted by the Libyan authorities.
The Dehiba- Wazen border is the only exit and entry point between Tunisia and Libya after the disruption of movement at Ras Ajdir border.
More than 3,000 passengers cross Dehiba-Wazen border every day after the closure of Ras Ajdir border since two weeks.
Tunisian protesters from border towns near Ras Ajdir prevented Libyan citizens from entering the Tunisian territory in protest against the measures taking by the Libyan side to limit the smuggling operations between the two countries.
The cities of southern Tunisia have been suffering from a stifling fuel crisis for days, in what observers see as a direct result of stopping the smuggling of fuel from the Libyan side to Tunisia, which was estimated by Libya's Fuel and Gas Crisis Committee earlier to be around 40% of the consumption of the Tunisian fuel market.
