Practically 70,000 migrants have been intercepted this 12 months making an attempt to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy, greater than double the quantity in 2022, the Tunisian Nationwide Guard advised AFP on Saturday.
Tunisia, in addition to Libya, is the primary departure level for 1000’s of migrants hoping to succeed in Europe.
The quantity intercepted by Tunisian authorities reached 69,963 for the primary eleven months of 2023, in comparison with 31,297 in the identical interval final 12 months, in line with Nationwide Guard information.
Foreigners made up 78 %, whereas the remaining have been Tunisians.
That was a big shift from 2022, when 59 % have been international migrants.
The exodus accelerated in February after Tunisian President Kais Saied denounced the arrival of “hordes of unlawful migrants” from sub-Saharan Africa, who he stated have been a part of a “legal plan” geared toward “the altering the demographic composition” of the nation.
The speech sparked a violent anti-migrant marketing campaign, prompting a number of African nations, notably Ivory Coast and Guinea, to repatriate 1000’s of their residents, whereas many migrants tried to flee by boat, resulting in a variety of sinkings.
Tunisia has been accused by the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs of “expelling” migrants to Libya and Algeria, which Tunisian authorities deny.
Worldwide humanitarian sources advised AFP that not less than 5,500 migrants have been pushed to the border with Libya and three,000 to the border with Algeria since June, together with many caught making an attempt to depart for Europe.
Greater than 100 migrants have died within the Libyan-Tunisian desert this summer time, they stated, including that “collective expulsions to Libya and Algeria proceed.”
Many of the intercepted migrants have been picked up on Tunisia’s east coast, near Sfax, which is just about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa.
This summer time, a wave of exits was sparked by a brawl in Sfax that killed a Tunisian, prompting police to ship a whole lot of individuals into the desert.
