Tunisia rejects proposal for NATO presence: Official

Tunisia has rejected a NATO proposal that would allow NATO officials to use a planned military command center, according to Tunisia’s defense minister.

In a Monday statement, Abdelkrim Zibidi said his ministry had rejected the proposal, by which Tunisia would receive a 3-million-euro grant in exchange for letting NATO officers maintain a presence at military operations center the country plans to establish, Anadolu Agency reports.

At a session of parliament’s security committee, Zbidi said his ministry was currently working on plans to establish a “joint command center to coordinate between Tunisia’s air, land and sea forces”, according to Anadolu Agency

The command centre, the location of which has yet to be decided, would also be tasked with “ensuring border security and helping in the fight against terrorism,” Zbidi said.

He went on to assert that “no one from outside Tunisia’s military establishment” would enjoy access to the planned operations centre.

The defense minister also pointed to “continued threats” posed by regional terrorist groups, both inside Tunisia and in neighbouring Libya and Algeria, Anadolu Agency said.

TunisianMonitorOnline (Source:Anadolu Agency)

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