GABORONE, Botswana \u2014\u00a0The Tunisian government is erecting a fortified security fence that will cover 220 kilometers\u00a0of its\u00a0459-kilometer border with Libya to prevent the free flow of fighters, weapons and goods trafficked from the war-torn neighboring country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tunisian security project follows US approval in June\u00a0of the possible sale of a\u00a0$100 million mobile surveillance sensor system to Egypt\u00a0for its\u00a0border with Libya under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.\u00a0Egypt currently lacks remote detection capability for border violations and needs the equipment to stop foreign fighters, weapons, and <\/span>goods,<\/span>\u00a0and human trafficking operations from crossing into its territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Site clearance work\u00a0for Tunisia’s\u00a0fence began July 15. It is located 8 kilometers into Tunisian territory from the frontier with Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has not revealed the cost or announced any contractors that will work on\u00a0the border fence, but images\u00a0of the site\u00a0published by Libyan media appear to show military bulldozers at work on one section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an interview with private Tunisian TV station Attasi,\u00a0Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said the barrier his country plans, which features a fence ringed by a defensive ditch, seeks to prevent Libyan militant groups from transiting through or basing in Tunisia.\u00a0Tunisia also hopes that the wall will stop the flow of weapons from Libya, where Islamist groups allied to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are battling militias allied to two rival governments fighting for control of Libya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of the known Tunisian jihadist groups which <\/span>that originated from Libya include Ansar al-Sharia\u00a0and the\u00a0Katibat Uqba Ibn Nafi\u00a0(KUIN), which operate from the Chaambi\u00a0Mountains on the border with Libya and the central region on the border with Algeria, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his Attasia interview,\u00a0Essebsi said there is a need to seal the border with Libya to prevent incidents like the June 26 terrorist attack in the resort of Sousse, where a lone gunman killed 38\u00a0foreign tourists, most of them British.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We have 500 kilometers of border with Libya, mostly desert, and we need special equipment to control that border,” Essebsi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Addressing the threat\u00a0of armed attacks on the frontier fence by Libya-based militants, Essebsi said Tunisia will fight to protects its borders because Libya continues to be a source of militants, weapons and a base for armed groups actively destabilizing North Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Any possible attack against the fence being constructed on the border could lead to a military response because we are very concerned about the security situation in Libya, and the [activities of] militias allied to Daesh [the Islamic State group] which are active there,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defense Minister Farhat Horchani said the fence will have observation towers to track movements across the desert on both sides. It will also be monitored by an electronic sensor system to detect border infringements and alert strategically located command-and-control posts. UAVs\u00a0will also be deployed to patrol the border, Horchani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Construction of the fence is set to be completed by year’s end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tunisia is a close ally of the US and has over the past two years received massive US military aid, including aircraft, patrol boats, training and weapons for its\u00a0special anti-terrorism units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly 7,000 Tunisians are fighting in jihadist wars in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent\u00a0report released by the UN Working Group on mercenaries. At least 4,000 are believed to be in Syria and 1,500 in Libya, while 200 are thought to be in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n