Tunisia: Interior Ministry Seizes Turkish Weapons Smuggled from Libya

Image showing the 35 assault rifles seized during the operation (Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)
Image showing the 35 assault rifles seized during the operation (Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)
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Tunisia: Interior Ministry Seizes Turkish Weapons Smuggled from Libya

Image showing the 35 assault rifles seized during the operation (Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)
Image showing the 35 assault rifles seized during the operation (Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)

Tunisian authorities have seized Turkish-made weapons smuggled from Turkey to Libya, which were bound for Feriana, Kasserine, a region infiltrated by terrorist groups affiliated with ISIS and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), announced Interior Ministry spokesperson Khaled Hayouni on Wednesday.

The security units seized the weapons from a vehicle in Beni Khedache, Medenine Governorate, in an ambush.

A source indicated that five people were arrested. However, Hayouni preferred not to disclose the nationalities of the smugglers to preserve the confidentiality of the case.

Hayouni stressed that the weapons seized were not buried under the dirt, as some media outlets promoted. He also announced that five people were arrested in connection with the seized arms, according to Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP).

Caretaker PM Youssef Chahed visited the Directorate of the Investigating Police at El-Gorjani announcing that the seized weapons were meant to be used for terror attacks on sensitive sites in Tunisia.

In details, police in Medenine seized 35 assault rifles and large amounts of cash in an operation carried out in coordination with the judicial police and other units.

In addition, two men and two women were detained in relation with the operation. Two other men were also arrested for monitoring the road which the vehicle used during its attempt to smuggle the weapons.

Authorities also arrested a fifth man in Kasserine district in connection with the operation, after coordination between the Prosecutors’ offices in Medenine and Kasserine.

Earlier, Interior Minister Hichem Fourati said all measures have been taken in anticipation of any development on the Tunisian-Libyan border, stressing the deployment of security units and the army along the coast and on the country's eastern border.

“All measures have been taken to prepare for any possible infiltration of terrorists on Tunisian soil,” he said.



Canada PM Carney Condemns Israeli Blockade on Food, Says WFP Must Be Allowed to Work in Gaza

Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Canada PM Carney Condemns Israeli Blockade on Food, Says WFP Must Be Allowed to Work in Gaza

Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Liberal Party of Canada Leader Mark Carney delivers his speech after being announced as the winner of the party leadership at the announcement event in Ottawa, Ontario, Sunday, March 9, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney urged Israel to allow the World Food Program to work in Gaza, saying food must not be used as a 'political tool', hours after the UN agency ran out of stocks due to a sustained Israeli blockade on supplies.
The WFP said on Friday it had delivered its last remaining supplies to kitchens providing hot meals in Gaza and that the facilities were expected to run out of food in the coming days, Reuters reported.
"The UN World Food Program just announced that its food stocks in Gaza have run out because of the Israeli Government's blockade — food cannot be used as a political tool," Carney said on X.
The UN agency said no humanitarian or commercial supplies had entered Gaza for more than seven weeks because all main border crossing points were closed, the longest closure the Gaza Strip had ever faced.
"Palestinian civilians must not bear the consequences of Hamas' terrorist crimes," Carney said. "The World Food Program must be allowed to resume its lifesaving work."
Israel has previously denied that Gaza is facing a hunger crisis. The military accuses the Hamas militants who run Gaza of exploiting aid, which Hamas denies, and says it must keep all supplies out to prevent the fighters from getting it.
The Gaza government media office on Friday said that famine was becoming a reality in the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone.
An attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. Since then, more than 51,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to health officials.
"We will continue to work with our allies towards a permanent ceasefire and the immediate return of all hostages," Carney added.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the Gaza Strip.
Canadians will vote to elect a new government on Monday, and polls show Carney's Liberals have a slim lead over the Conservatives.