The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres arrived in Tunisia for the commemoration of World Refugee Day, the official press agency TAP reported on Thursday.
"I have come to thank the people and government of Tunisia for their remarkable hospitality, especially to Libyan refugees," he said, adding that it deserves the recognition and appreciation of the international community.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said he will call on the international community to support Tunisia in dealing with the refugee issue through direct donations or funding and in collaboration with Tunisian authorities.
Gutteres is due to travel to the south of the country on Friday to attract media attention on the North African country's efforts in coping with the situation on the Tunisian-Libyan border. For the first time in its history, the southern region of Medenine, will commemorate World Refugee Day. The region hosts some 5,000 refugees staying at the Choucha and Ras El Jedir refugee transit camps.
According to UN sources, more than 400,000 refugees fled into Tunisia in the months following the civil unrest in Libya. 70,000 Libyans are currently living in southern Tunisia. Most of them are hosted in Tunisian households.