Tataouine — "Tunisian authorities have set up special units in different important sites to protect oil and gas fields in the Saharan perimeter of the country," corroborative security forces told TAP correspondent in Tataouine Monday.

The same sources added that "this measure aims to prevent any terrorist act against these fields, especially those located on the Tunisian-Algerian border."

They said that this preventive measure was taken due to clashes underway in Northern Mali and in the wake of the terrorist attack against an Algerian gas plant in In Amenas and also after the tripartite meeting held last January 12 in Ghedames between the Prime Ministers of Tunisia, Libya and Algeria.

TAP was unable to collect further information despite its efforts to contact a source from the National Defence Ministry.