The United States may soon be sending troops to the Tunisian/Libyan border as violence between militants has escalated there, according to the Associated Press. Tunisia's defense minister, Abdelkrim Zbidi, has asked the United States if it would increase training of their forces in order to better protect citizens from terrorist groups that have plagued the country recently.
Here is a little bit more information on Tunisia's need for military support.
* Tunisia is located on the continent of Africa.
* Its border nations are both Libya and Algeria, according to CIA World Factbook.
* Tunisia and Algeria had border problems that have been resolved, and now Tunisia is facing problems with their border with Libya.
Libyan Problems Crossing the Border
* The fight to oust Gadhafi from power caused a lot of fighting to spill over into Tunisia, including pro-Gadhafi forces attacking Tunisian territory in July 2011, according to Dhaou MAATOUG.
* Since the killing of Gadhafi, there are increased weapons in Libya which have been crossing the border into Tunisia.
* There have also been problems with tribal wars spilling over the border into Tunisia, as they have taken in many refugees from Libya.
* This tribal war that is currently going on is between the Touba tribe and the Zwai tribe in Libya, according to Strategy Page.
* Since the war in Libya began, there have been 600 weapons confiscated in 2011 alone, according to ABC News.
Weapons Smuggling
* Just as the U.S. faces problems with the Mexican border, Tunisia faces problems of weapons smuggling that is coming from Libya, according to Magharebia.
* In early February, five Tunisian soldiers were injured in a scuffle involving members of a weapons smuggling ring.
* The weapons smuggling ring that was involved is believed to not be the only one in operation.
* The group believed responsible for the weapons smuggling is Al Qaida.
Islamic State
* Tunisia also broke up an Al Qaida terrorist ring that was planning on setting up an Islamic state, according to Reuters.
* Twelve terrorists were arrested on February 13, 2012, and most of them had previously been jailed in Tunisia for terrorism charges.
* After being released from prison they had received further terrorist training in Libya and had returned to Tunisia where they were again captured.
* On February 3, 2012, it was announced by the Tunisian government that the border crossing between Libya and Tunisia was closed, according to Tunisialive.
Lauren Finnegan graduated from Hawaii Pacific University with a bachelor's degree in political science and has an insider's perspective on the military because of her role as a military wife who has lived around the country.
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