Tunisian troops restore calm to border after riots

RAS AJDIR, Tunisia – Tunisian authorities have restored calm to the main border crossing with Libya after local residents clashed with refugees stranded there.

Tunisian Defense Minister Abdul-Karim al-Zubaidi on Wednesday toured the Choucha refugee camp where demonstrations had sparked the rioting.

The police and military presence has been boosted in the area to prevent any further violence.

Refugees fleeing Libya, mainly foreign workers from Eritrea, Somalia and the Ivory Coast, have been living in the Choucha camp near the border for months.

The refugees have been demonstrating recently over fears they will be sent back to their home countries. On Tuesday a mob of local residents wielding clubs and iron bars attacked the refugees.