Tunisia: Libyan Border Closed Following Attacks

March 7, 2016 | 17:33 GMT

Tunisia closed its borders with Libya after militants attacked the Tunisian army and police in the border town of Ben Guerdan, Reuters reported March 7. Authorities sealed off the nearby beach resort town of Djerba, frequented by foreign and local tourists, and closed two border crossings with Libya following the attack. The government and residents said that the raid killed at least 50 people, including 35 gunmen and 18 security personnel and civilians, according to the Tunisian Ministry of National Defense. Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi told local radio that the attack was unprecedented and well organized but that the Tunisian army and police are primed for counterattacks. Though Tunisia finished constructing a barrier of sand banks and water trenches along its Libyan border and Western countries have offered to help combat the Islamic state, terrorism is still pervasive in the region.