RAS JDIR: International officials Wednesday said they believed it was possible refugees fleeing Libya were being held back due to a sudden drop in the number trying to cross the border into Tunisia.
“Around 3,000 people crossed the border on Tuesday, which is a relatively low figure,” compared with the 10,000 refugees that flooded across the border in previous days, said Monji Slim, head of the Red Crescent in Tunisia.
“I believe that it is the policy of the Libyans in order to improve their image.
“I have heard that satellite images taken by the Americans and the British show concentrations of people on the Libyan side of the border,” Slim added.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told reporters in Tunis he had “the same information but no proof” that they were being barred from crossing the border.
Guterres, who with International Organization for Migration chief William Swing met with the Tunisian interim president and prime minister installed after the ouster of veteran ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, said the United Nations desperately needed funds. (AFP)
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