On 16 January, Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi met with the truck drivers’ unions and associations to discuss the underlying problems of the ongoing truck driver strike – which has been going on since 9 January across the country – especially the scarcity of fuel and road taxes collected at checkpoints. He stressed that forcing public road users to pay money in exchange for allowing them to pass is against the law, noting that taxes and fees are imposed only by law.
Thereafter, Trabelsi announced that all checkpoints that are not operated by the official Security Forc-es will be removed from the roads, and all Security Forces checkpoints must also be approved by the Security Directorates. He stressed that no harassment of truck drivers will be tolerated and petrol sta-tions would be guarded by the Security Forces. This is also intended to ensure that truck drivers have access to fuel. Trabelsi noted that the sale of fuel away from filling stations will be prohibited and any person selling fuel on the road will be arrested as a smuggler.
On 17 January, the truck drivers ended strikes and blockades in several cities, although they continued in others. And on 21 January, the truck drivers of Ghariyan suspended their strike for one month following Trabelsi’s promises. They warned that if all demands are not met by this time, the strike will be resumed.