In parallel to the Presidential Council’s Joint Military Force securing the Ras Ajdir area, Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior (MoI) Emad Trabelsi ordered the formation of a Joint Security Room to establish security in the border region with Tunisia from the sea to al-Aassah (35 km SSE of Ras Ajdir).
The local security directorates and several other authorities will also be represented. The HQ will be located in al-Aassah. Abdul Hakim Muhammad al-Khaitouni has been appointed as commander. Among others, 20 patrols of the Internal Security Agency (ISA) and 50 patrols of the Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) will be subordinated to the Joint Security Room. According to Trabelsi, this was done in coordination with the General Staff of the Libyan Army and the Attorney General – though it is unclear this is the case.
On 28 March, the MoI Joint Security Room in al-Aassah started deploying the first patrols along the border, excluding Ras Ajdir – Abu Kammash. Trabelsi stated that all ports and airports in Tripoli, Misrata and Zintan are under state control, only the Ras Ajdir border crossing is not. He said that after taking control of the western border, it was possible to secure the fuel supply for the entire western part of Libya. Trabelsi said it had also been agreed with the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff to send a Libyan Army force to Abu Kammash (the last town before Ras Ajdir) to secure access to the border crossing, adding that in the future, no weapons will be allowed between Abu Kammash and the Gtrenz crossing. Trabelsi claimed that the MoI has more than 500 pick-ups available in al-Aassah.