On 19 March, long queues formed on both sides of the Tunisian-Libyan coastal border after the Ras Ajdir border crossing remained closed. Amazigh (Berber) Militias from Zuwarah have taken up positions on the coastal road and around the border crossing. These Amazigh militias are defending what they understand to be their ‘traditional role’ in the lucrative illicit economy of the border crossing.
On 20 March, the members of the Law Enforcement Department of the General Directorate of Security Operations who were arrested last week by the Zuwarah militias during the fight for the border crossing were released. The following day, the Municipal Council, the Military Council and the Elders & Notables council of Zuwarah requested that the Government of National Unity (GNU) ‘stop the Ministry of Interior (MoI) attacks against the population of the city’.