Tunisian security forces arrested two groups of men carrying weapons and diplomatic passports arriving at the Tunisian border from Libya, Tunisian Defense Minister Abdelkareem Zubaidi said.
He explained that the first group, consisting of 13 people carrying French diplomatic passports, arrived at the Ras Jedir border crossing on Sunday.
Zubaidi added that the group refused to hand over its weapons to the security authorities at the beginning of its arrest before accepting it later.
He explained that the second group consists of 11 foreign nationals of different nationalities.
Zubaidi said the group tried last Wednesday to cross the maritime border using two rubber boats.
The French embassy in Tunis said the arrested French nationals were members of a security team charged with securing the French embassy in Libya.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tunisia Lutfi Hajji said that informal parties are talking about the discovery of other devices in the group used for communication may be affiliated to the operating room supports Hafter.
For his part, the Libyan journalist writer Abdullah al-Kabir suggested that these militants be part of the French military technical team, which supports the forces of retired brigade Khalifa Hafter from the city of Greyan.
He added that the French version is incorrect, because if the gunmen were affiliated with the French Embassy in Libya to formally request to leave Tripoli as an official accredited team, in addition to the embassy is closed and the French ambassador to Libya is active from Tunisia.