Tunisia Closes Crossing with Libya Amid Clashes on Libyan Side, State Radio Says 

Vehicles are seen at the Ras Jdir border crossing with Libya. (Libya’s Government of National Unity's Interior Ministry file photo)
Vehicles are seen at the Ras Jdir border crossing with Libya. (Libya’s Government of National Unity's Interior Ministry file photo)
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Tunisia Closes Crossing with Libya Amid Clashes on Libyan Side, State Radio Says 

Vehicles are seen at the Ras Jdir border crossing with Libya. (Libya’s Government of National Unity's Interior Ministry file photo)
Vehicles are seen at the Ras Jdir border crossing with Libya. (Libya’s Government of National Unity's Interior Ministry file photo)

Tunisia temporarily closed the Ras Jdir border crossing with Libya for security reasons amid armed clashes on the Libyan side, Tunisian state media said late on Monday.

Video footage has been circulated on social media showing a burning vehicle at Ras Jdir, accompanied by the sound of shooting and people running.

The interior ministry of the government of national unity in Tripoli was not immediately available for comment.

The ministry said on Sunday that it had deployed law enforcement to take control of the crossing to “combat smuggling and control security violations in order to maintain security and manage the movement of passengers between Libya and Tunisia”.

Tunisian Tataouine Radio said that Tunisia closed the crossing to preserve the safety of citizens going to Libya. Stranded people from the Libyan side were allowed to enter before the crossing closed.

Libya has had little peace since a 2011 uprising, and it split in 2014 between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing each area.



US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Revokes Foreign Terrorist Designation for Syria's HTS

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria March 29, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump's administration on Monday revoked the foreign terrorist organization designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as Washington moves to remove US sanctions on Syria to help the country rebuild following years of a civil war.

In December, opposition factions led by HTS ousted Syria's former president Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive. Then-HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria's president and said he wanted to build an inclusive and democratic Syria.

HTS was previously known as al-Nusra Front when it was al-Qaeda's Syria branch. It broke off ties with al-Qaeda in 2016.

In May, Sharaa met with Trump in Riyadh where, in a major policy shift, the Republican president unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions on Syria, prompting Washington to significantly ease its measures.

"This FTO revocation is an important step in fulfilling President Trump’s vision of a stable, unified, and peaceful Syria," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, adding that the revocation will come into effect on Tuesday.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order terminating US sanctions program on Syria, a move that aims to end the country's isolation from the international financial system.

Syria's foreign ministry told Reuters that the lifting of sanctions on HTS was a "positive step toward correcting a course that previously hindered constructive engagement."

The written statement said Syria hoped the move would "contribute to the removal of remaining restrictions that continue to impact Syrian institutions and officials, and open the door to a rational, sovereign-based approach to international cooperation."

The ministry also said that Sharaa was planning to attend the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September. The UN Security Council still has sanctions on both HTS and Sharaa himself, which require a Council decision to remove.