Trade resumes at main Tunisia-Libya crossing: officials

Border traffic between Tunisia and Libya resumed on Saturday after the two countries reached a deal to lift a trade blockade at the main frontier crossing following angry street protests.

The breakthrough came after an agreement was reached late Friday on customs duties for goods passing through Ras Jedir, local governor Tahar Matmati said.

The accord provides for the establishment of a single customs duty for goods, Matmati said, adding that a joint monitoring committee was to oversee the deal.

Libyan border officials halted all freight traffic through the crossing at the end of April in an attempt to stop the smuggling of fuel, which is much cheaper across the border.

The closure sparked demonstrations on the Tunisian side and a strike on Wednesday in the impoverished town of Ben Guerdane, where the economy is heavily dependent upon trade with Libya, both legal and contraband.