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Tunisia plans to build a really long wall to keep out terrorists

WASHINGTON — After last month’s shocking terror attack at a beach resort in the city of Sousse, the Tunisian government has authorized plans to build a 104-mile-long barrier to better secure its border with Libya.

The proposal was unveiled Wednesday by Tunisia Prime Minister Habib Essid, who deemed the lawless situation in Libya to be ‘‘the biggest dilemma’’ facing his nation.

Seifeddine Rezgui, the Tunisian gunman who killed 38 people, mostly tourists, in Sousse is believed to have received training from the Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia in Libya, which is in the grip of a civil war. The Islamic State, which has a Libyan off-shoot, separately claimed responsibility for the attack and has set its sights on expanding its branches in North Africa.

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The barrier would comprise a long trench and sand fortification stretching inland from the Mediterranean, according to reports. It would be built and monitored by the Tunisian military and dotted with surveillance posts. Reports also suggest Tunisia will receive outside logistical and technical support from France and the United Arab Emirates to help reinforce its borders.

Beyond a physical barrier, though, Tunisia has taken other more controversial steps to crack down on suspected radicals. Essid, who was nominated to his post by Tunisia’s ruling secularists, ordered some 80 mosques accused of ‘‘spreading venom’’ to be closed. A group of Tunisian clerics protested the ‘‘unjust’’ move, saying the assault ‘‘bore no relation to Islam.’’

Tiny Tunisia has seen a huge flow of its nationals join the ranks of foreign jihadists fighting for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

The attacks within the country are a huge blow to its tourism industry, which contributes to more than 15 percent of Tunisia’s GDP.

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