Screen grab from a video of an anti-Libyan protest held Saturday in front of a hotel in central Tunis.



Many Libyans fled to Tunisia when the fighting in their country was at its worst. Now, a month and a half after Muammar Gaddafi’s death, relations between Libyans and Tunisians are far from easy.

On Saturday, in the heart the Tunisian capital of Tunis, an angry crowd gathered in front on one of the city’s biggest hotels, shouting anti-Libyan slogans. Demonstrators shouted “Go away, you rotten lot!”, “Rats, you’re rats!” Their insults echoed those of Gaddafi, who often called Libyan rebels “rats” while he was still alive.

At the root of the protesters’ anger was the death of a 20-year-old-woman Saturday. For them, there was no doubt that it was a Libyan national who pushed her from the 10th floor of the hotel’s terrace. An investigation to establish whether the woman’s death was murder, suicide or an accident is still ongoing.

According to the Tunisian Minister of the Interior, more than 70,000 Libyans sought refuge in Tunisia over the summer, following the violence that shook their country.

Tunis was repeatedly the scene of clashes between supporters of Gaddafi and those who fought for his downfall, as members of both groups took shelter in the city. Since the fall of Tripoli, pro-Gaddafi supporters have maintained a low profile. But now, tension is mounting between Tunisians and Libyans from both sides.