The Ras Ajdair border crossing between Libya and Tunisia is still open from both sides with normal travelling movement, according to officials working at the border from both countries.

The Fuel Crisis Committee, originally established by Tripoli municipal council in 2015 to find solutions to the shortage of fuel in the capital, yesterday launched what is being called “Operation Mediterranean Storm” to counter the smuggling of Libya’s subsidised fuel by sea.

The Italian government said on Sunday that dozens of rival tribes in southern Libya had agreed to cooperate on securing the country’s borders in an effort to curb the influx of migrants trying to reach Europe.

Chad has reopened one of its border crossings with chaos-wracked Libya, having shut it down in January citing a “potential terrorist infiltration”, the government said on Friday.

The EU could soon step up training and equipping Libya’s coast guard to crack down on refugee smuggling in the north African nation’s waters, according to an EU proposal seen by AFP on Saturday.

Tunisian and Libya agreed to resume vital trade through the Ras Jedir crosspoint after a week of unrest, a source close to the negotiations said, a decision Tunis hopes will end angry protests in the border region.

Libya’s UN-backed government has not accepted proposals by Rome aimed at cutting migrant and refugee flows to Italy and the two sides are “far apart” on the issue, Malta’s foreign minister said today.

Chad has officially closed its borders with Libya and has opted to deploy troops along the long boundaries in an extensive effort to prevent the big influx of militant fighters who have fled the country because of the prolonged conflict.

Anger in Libya over an agreement last Sunday between Libyan and Tunisian municipalities on either side of the border that is said to give Tunisian traders a significant financial advantage over Libyans is growing.

The Libyan authorities responsible for the crossing border of Ras Ajdair between Libya and Tunisia said Monday that the crossing checkpoint is open for both countries’ citizens, however, the residents of Ben Guredane in Tunisia are blocking the road and preventing travelers to go through from either side.