ACT Alliance

An ACT Alliance vehicle was on Thursday attacked by angry demonstrators close to the Tunisian-Libyan border. Agencies report increased tensions among the local population and in the refugee camps.

The ACT Alliance team in the Tunisian-Libyan border area experienced first-hand the increasing frustrations of the local Tunisian population. During a demonstration in the town Bem Guedem, around 50km from the border, cars from several organisations were attacked by angry protestors. The ACT Alliance vehicle was set upon by several demonstrators who attempted to turn it on its side. The vehicle sustained several dents, but our local driver was able to escape the incident unharmed.

”Tunisia is troubled with widespread unemployment and the population in the border areas is less then pleased to see a steady flow of refugees crossing the border from Libya. According to reports, the demonstration was directed at the Tunisian authorities. On Thursday evening however, the local population’s frustrations and anger were vented at the international organisations that are currently visible in the area,” says Arne Grieg Riisnæs, ACT Alliance communicator in Tunisia.

”We were lucky. Other vehicles had their windscreens smashed and some demonstrators tried to pull aid workers from their vehicles. As far as we understand, nobody was harmed.”

As many as 140,000 people have so far crossed into Tunisia to flee the violence in Libya. Although the situation has so far remained calm, frustrations are now increasing, also among the local population. ACT Alliance in cooperation with UN/OCHA is now carrying out a thorough assessment of the situation for refugees in order to best be able to plan the work ahead in these camps.

”We are worried that tensions are rising and that the security situation may prevent us from continuing our work. We hope therefore that the situation will remain calm. Our main priority is to continue our work, but we must always consider the safety of our staff.”

An ACT Alliance team spent Friday in the Sousha refugee camp on the Tunisian-Libyan border, where currently around 15,000 refugees are housed. The atmosphere in the camp was tense, and refugees organised two demonstrations within the camp itself, but no violence was reported.

”We are in dialogue with UN security experts, and are taking extra care in light of the security situation. We are discussing various measures, such as driving in a convoy for the next few days,” says Grieg Riisnæs.