20120611
AFP
Tunisia's main border crossing with Libya has been closed after clashes between Libyan armed forces and former rebels over control of the frontier, security sources told AFP Sunday.

The clashes broke out on Saturday night when Libyan soldiers tried to take control of the Ras Jdir border post from former rebels, news agency TAP said.

"The main road has been closed on the Libyan side as a preventive security measure" with only urgent convoys and ambulances allowed to pass Sunday, the sources said.

The border was also blocked on the Tunisian side by demonstrators calling for the liberation of 12 Tunisians who had been arrested during clashes on the Libyan side and prevented from returning to their home country, TAP said.

Long queues of vehicles carrying Libyan passengers were massed at the border, unable to cross back home.

Ras Jdir is the main border crossing between the two countries. It was here that tens of thousands of Libyans fled during the 2011 uprising against Moamer Kadhafi's regime.

In peace times, southern Tunisian regions bordering north-west Libya survive on trade with their neighbour. A million Libyans travel to Tunisia annually for tourism or healthcare.