Tataouine, April 13 — Reports circulating on social media of heavy traffic and congestion for several days at the Dehiba-Wazen border crossing between Tunisia and Libya in Tataouine, with waiting times of more than a week to complete crossing formalities, are «incorrect,» an official source at the border post said on Saturday.

The same source told TAP that the closure of the Ras Jedir border crossing by the Libyan authorities since the end of March has led to an increase in lorry and passenger traffic at the Dehiba-Wazen crossing in recent days, adding that waiting times remain acceptable and do not exceed 24 hours in extreme cases.

In recent months, traffic between Tunisia and Tunisia via the Dehiba-Wazen crossing has reached around 4,000 passengers, 1,000 cars and 100 commercial vehicles per day, which is higher than in normal times when the flow is estimated at 1,500 passengers, 500 cars and 40 commercial vehicles per day.

This explains the delays and congestion recorded and the dissatisfaction of passengers in completing customs formalities.

According to the same source, despite the interruption of the expansion and renovation works at the Dehiba-Wazen border crossing, which began in April 2016, the crossing has managed to handle the increased movement of passengers and vehicles efficiently and without incident.

This is despite the lack of equipment and the existence of only one crossing corridor, he stressed, adding that the Tunisian authorities are working to speed up procedures to reduce waiting times.