MEDENINE, (TAP) - The Crisis Response Unit of the Foreign Ministry announced the establishment of an air bridge to evacuate 6,000 Egyptians stuck on the Libyan side of the Ras Jedir border crossing, Governorate of Medenine.
This measure was taken during an emergency co-ordination meeting held, Saturday, between the Foreign Ministry Secretary-General, Egypt's ambassador in Tunis and the Libyan Chargé d' affaires to Tunisia.
Egyptian ambassador Ayman Mecharfa said at the end of the meeting that the Egyptian government had undertaken to devote jumbo jets that guarantee the evacuation of 2,000 Egyptians each day from Djerba Airport.
The Libyan side undertook to speed up the entry into the Tunisian territory of Egyptian nationals, Chargé d'affaires of Libya's Embassy to Tunisia Mohamed Al Maaloul said at a news briefing following the meeting.
For his part, the Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Mohamed Ali Chihi said that the security procedures at the Ras Jedir border crossing have become more rigorous, adding that body search of one single person could last 15 minutes, usually from 2 to 3 minutes in normal time.
In this regard, he asserted that the country's highest interest requires that each person entering the Tunisian territory does not represent any threat for the national security.
Chihi pointed out that an idea had been suggested during the meeting to evacuate Egyptians by boat from the Port of Zarzis, to reduce the waiting time, explaining that Tunisia will be a country of transit rather than that of refuge.
He added that the Foreign Ministry accelerated the creation of a Consular Centre on the border to follow up the development of the situation, adding that "the Ras Jedir border crossing will only be closed in the worst case scenario when the security situation gets out of control."
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2014
