TRIPOLI: Interior ministers from Libya and Tunisia said on Wednesday they had agreed to partially reopen the border crossing at Ras Jdir on Thursday morning, and to fully reopen it on June 20 after more than three months of closure.
Libyan interior minister in Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, Emad Trabulsi, said in a video statement with his Tunisian counterpart, Khaled Nouri, that the border crossing would be reopened “for the interest of the countries without harming any party.”
In mid-March, the Libyan interior ministry said it closed the border crossing due to armed clashes after the border was attacked by “outlaws.”
Ras Ijdir is the major border crossing between the two countries in Libya’s western region, where Libyans often go to Tunisia for medical treatment and trucks with goods coming in the opposite direction.
Libya has had little peace since a 2011 uprising and is split between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing each area.
The GNU, which controls Tripoli and northwestern parts of Libya, is recognized internationally but not by the country’s eastern-based parliament.
“The reopening will be tomorrow for humanitarian cases, special cases that have permits from the Tunisian and Algerian interior ministry, and medical cases,” said Trabulsi.
Trabulsi added that he would meet Nouri on June 20 at the border crossing “to hold a meeting and fully reopen it to all travelers.”
For his part, Nouri said they had supported the crossing with everything necessary “in order to facilitate movement and not disrupt travelers from both sides.”
Interior ministers of Libya and Tunisia agree reopening of major border crossing
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Interior ministers of Libya and Tunisia agree reopening of major border crossing
- The GNU, which controls Tripoli and northwestern parts of Libya, is recognized internationally but not by the country’s eastern-based parliament
First EU airline flight in 35 years lands in Baghdad
- The ministry said the arrival signalled “Iraq’s return to the European aviation map“
- The Baghdad-Athens-Baghdad route will operate two flights a week
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s transport ministry said Tuesday that a flight operated by Greece’s Aegean Airlines had been the first European aircraft in 35 years to land at Baghdad’s international airport.
In a statement, the ministry said the arrival signalled “Iraq’s return to the European aviation map” and ushered in “a new phase of recovery for Iraq’s aviation sector.”
European airlines have not operated direct flights to Baghdad International Airport for security reasons since the early 1990s, when Iraq’s long-time ruler Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait.
Hussein was toppled by the US-led invasion in 2003, which was followed by a civil war, sectarian violence and the emergence of armed jihadist factions.
But, after decades of turmoil, Iraq has recently begun to regain a sense of stability and the government is striving to attract foreign investment to bolster the country’s economy.
The Baghdad-Athens-Baghdad route will operate two flights a week with the possibility of adding more depending on demand, the ministry said.
Earlier this year, the Greek carrier started flights to Irbil, the capital of the northern autonomous Kurdistan region, which presents itself as a relative oasis of stability in volatile Iraq.
