Mass protests were staged and violence flared up in the city of Ben Guerdane in southeastern Tunisia on Sept. 6, following the killing of Hussein Mansour, a young man who was shot by a Tunisian military patrol on the border with Libya during a hot pursuit of smuggling vehicles coming from Libyan territory to the military buffer zone in southern Tunisia.

Rida al-Najeh, a member of the coalition of civil society groups in Ben Guerdane, told Al-Monitor, “The people are calling for alleviating the punishment measures that now include firing live bullets against smugglers in the military buffer zone. The calls are made in light of the deteriorating situation in the city, which forced young [unemployed] men to break the law and get involved in smuggling activities and cross the buffer zone. The state should have provided these citizens with the appropriate living conditions.”

The Tunisian authorities announced in August 2013 the establishment of a military buffer zone along the eastern border with Libya to prevent the smuggling of arms and ammunition from Libya into the country. Since then, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense has been imposing special procedures for access into the border buffer region, including obtaining prior authorization and subjecting any transgressing party to punishments that may include the use of live bullets in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the presidential decree on the creation of the buffer zone.

Most of the border cities, such as Ben Guerdane and Zahabiya, including those in the buffer zone, lack development and job opportunities for the youth. One of the few ways Tunisian youth make a living is by smuggling of goods and fuel between Tunisia and Libya, which has been threatened by the creation of the buffer zone. Hence, the Tunisian government is now torn between development and security.