Gaddafi forces claim control of Misurata port

The Libyan government has announced that its forces took control of Misurata’s port and warned rebels in the besieged city they faced further bloodshed unless they handed in their weapons within four days.

Mussa Ibrahim, a spokesperson for Muammar Gaddafi, also urged foreign fighters to leave the country or “[we will] finish you off”.

“We will fight for Misurata soldier by soldier, young man by young man, young woman by young woman,” he said on Friday.

Responding to diplomatic tensions with neighbouring Tunisia after fighting spilled over the border, Ibrahim blamed the rebels for border violations and pledged respect for Tunisia’s sovereignty.

He said Libya that was co-ordinating with the Tunisian government to prevent a disaster on the border.

Earlier on Friday, pro-Gaddafi forces clashed with Libyan rebels, Libyan refugees and Tunisian civilians in the Tunisian border town of Dehiba, prompting Tunis to issue a diplomatic rebuke.

Tunisian troops detained and disarmed pro-Gaddafi fighters and then returned them to the Libyan side of the border, Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught reported from the Tunisian frontier on Friday.

Tunisia summoned Libya’s ambassador to protest against the incursions on Friday afternoon, Radhouane Nouicer, the country’s Tunisian deputy foreign minister, told Al Jazeera.

“We summoned the Libyan envoy and gave him a strong protest because we won’t tolerate any repetition of such violations. Tunisian soil is a red line and no one is allowed to breach it,” he said.