Musaid or Imsaad ( ar, امساعد) is a town in
Butnan District
Butnan ( ar, البطنان ') sometimes called ''Tubruq District'' or ''Tobruk District'' from the former name, occasionally ''Marmarica'', is an administrative district (shabiyah) in eastern Libya. Its capital city is Tobruk.
In the north, B ...
in eastern
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. Alternates names include: Oistant, Msa'ed, Imsa'ed, and Musa'ed. Musaid lies approximately east of
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near th ...
and is the major
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
crossing between Libya and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
History
Musaid was the site of heavy fighting during the brief
Libyan–Egyptian War of 1977. This war, the break-off of Libyan-Egyptian diplomatic relations, and the resultant trade embargo with Egypt, had a very negative impact on Musaid. For example, Musaid's population shrank from 4,330 in 1973 to 3,200 in 1984 (-26.1%), while overall Libya's population rose in the same period by 60.30%.
Culture
Nearby is the Sidi Shahir Ruhih shrine.
"Sīdī Shāhir Rūḩih, in Ţubruq, Libya"
''Travelingluck.com'', accessed 9 May 2009
Economy
Musaid's economy depended heavily on trade between Egypt and Libya. After the 1977 war and the follow-on trade embargo with Egypt, this was replaced in part by smuggling, aided by the close tribal ties across the border.["عاجل : وجود تمركز مكثف لقوات الأمن العام ( الدعم المركزي ) بمنطقة ..." ("public security forces concentrated in distant border region")](_blank)
14 November 2008, ''Panorama Libya'', in Arabic In 2008, the Libyan government acted to suppress the smugglers.
Border crossing
As of autumn 2010, a large suite of new border facilities is under construction.
See also
* List of cities in Libya
This is a list of the 100 largest populated places in Libya. Some places in the list could be considered suburbs or neighborhoods of some large cities in the list, so this list is not definitive.
''Source:Amraja M. el Khajkhaj, "Noumou ...
Notes
External links
"Musa`id, Libya"
Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.
Satellite map at Maplandia.com
{{Al Butnan
Populated places in Butnan District
Egypt–Libya border crossings
Cyrenaica
Baladiyat of Libya