Tunisia protests over Libya shelling

Updated at: 0433 PST, Wednesday, May 18, 2011
TUNIS: The Tunisian government Tuesday protested to Libya about shelling on its soil and threatened to report the matter to the United Nations, a source close to the foreign ministry said.

"The Tunisian government has instructed its ambassador in Tripoli to convey our strong protest to the Libyan authorities," the official TAP agency quoted the source as saying after fresh shelling near the Dehiba border post between the two countries.

The ambassador was instructed to "alert them (Libya) that the continuation of these dangerous violations by Libyan forces will have a very negative impact on relations between the two countries.

They "could compel the Tunisian government to take strict measures to protect its territory and its citizens and to guarantee the security of refugees on its territory, by referring the matter the secretary general of the UN among others." (AFP)