BEN GARDANE, Tunisia
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid on Sunday said that his government has beefed up security along the 200km-long border with violence-ridden Libya.
"Over the past three weeks, we have reinforced security presence along the entire border with Libya following the heinous murder of 21 Egyptians," Essid said during a visit to Ras Ajdir border crossing, the largest terminal between Tunisia and Libya.
Essid referred to a video released last month by Daesh - Arabic acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group - which purportedly showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian hostages in Libya.
The executions prompted Egypt to launch airstrikes against suspected Daesh targets in eastern Libya's Darnah city. Thousands of Egyptians working in Libya have fled the latter through crossing into Tunisia to return to Egypt from there.
Libya has remained in a state of turmoil since a bloody uprising ended the decades-long rule of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in late 2011.
Since then, the country's sharp political divisions have yielded two rival seats of government, each of which has its own institutions.
Vying for legislative authority are the Tobruk-based House of Representatives and the Islamist-led General National Congress, which – even though its mandate ended last year – continues to convene in capital Tripoli.
The two assemblies support two different governments, respectively headquartered in the two cities.
