TUNIS, Tunisia — The death toll from clashes between Tunisian security forces and unidentified insurgents near the border with Libya is 54, the Interior Ministry said late Monday in a statement.
“Thirty-six insurgents and 18 others, including civilians and security forces, were killed in the operation in the southern city of Begardene,” according to the statement, which said another 10 security forces and three civilians were injured.
The ministry said that seven insurgents had been arrested.
President Beji Caid Essebsi said earlier Monday that Tunisia may take extraordinary measures in case of “an imminent danger that threatens the country’s security and independence.”
“The prime minister has informed me of the measures taken: shutting down the border with neighboring Libya and imposing a curfew in the city,” Essebsi said in a televised speech.
Authorities have already closed the Ras Jedir border crossing with Libya, as well as the island of Djerba, a tourist destination, to prevent infiltration by militants, the state-run Agence Tunis Afrique Presse reported.
Essebsi said all measures he is considering are allowable under the constitution.
The clashes broke out when gunmen attempted to storm military and security barracks and other sites at dawn Monday in Begardene, near the Libyan border, Tunisian Defence Ministry spokesman Belhassen Oueslati said.
“The attack was systematic and organized. It might have aimed at declaring a new ‘state,’” Essebsi said, possibly in reference to the militants being members of the Islamic State movement.