The Tunisian army stepped in, detaining and disarming the pro-Gaddafi fighters and then returning them to the Libyan side of the border, Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reported from the Tunisian side of the frontier on Friday.
McNaught said three pro-Gaddafi soldiers had been reported killed, along with one Libyan rebel. Twelve Libyan soldiers had been hospitalised in Tunisian.
Bodies of pro-Gaddafi fighters litter the streets near the Dehiba-Wazin crossing the Reuters news agency reported.
"These are rats of the tyrant, they wanted to escape to Tunisia. But the rebels of 17th of February are standing up to you Gaddafi," an unidentified rebel told Reuters, referring to the dead Gaddafi fighters.
After shelling the town, pro-Gaddafi forces sent 15 military trucks towards Dehiba on Friday morning, where the majority of the townspeople sympathise with the Libyan rebels, our correspondent said.
"They were extremely angry at the [Libyan] soldiers' presence, they attacked them with rocks," she said. "It got very nasty, it's put the Tunisian government in a very difficult position."
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.
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