Firefighters in Tunisia are battling a major blaze that has raged for two days in a pine forest near the border with Algeria, a civil defence official said on Thursday. Regional civil defense director Abdel Laabidi told AFP that around 470 hectares (1,100 acres) of forest had already burned, and that firefighters and an army helicopter were still fighting the flames. He said a border crossing with Algeria had to close temporarily because of the outbreak.