About 900 migrants, the majority of whom came from sub-Saharan Africa, who were trying to reach Europe illegally, have died since the beginning of the year off the coast of Tunisia, according to Tunisian authorities.
In order to avoid further tragedies, the UN called on Thursday for “urgent solutions” to rescue the hundreds of refugees and migrants stranded in dire conditions near Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria.
Tunisia, parts of whose coastline are less than 150 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa, regularly records the departure of migrants, most often from sub-Saharan Africa.
The Interior Ministry told AFP on Thursday that from January 1 to July 20, 901 drowned migrants were recovered from the sea: 26 Tunisians, 267 “foreigners” (Africans) and 608 bodies that have not been identified. .
The National Guard for its part announced the discovery of “789 bodies of migrants, including 102 Tunisians” from January until June 20.
Over this period, 34,290 migrants were intercepted and rescued, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 9,217 during the same period of 2022, according to National Guard spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli.
“552 organizers and intermediaries” of illicit crossings have been arrested since the beginning of 2023, according to the ministry. The coastguard carried out 1,310 operations in six months, more than double the previous year (607), according to Jebabli.
According to Rome, more than 80,000 people have arrived on the Italian coast since January, compared to 33,000 over the same period of 2022, the majority from Tunisia.
The central Mediterranean – between North Africa and Italy – is the most dangerous migration route in the world with more than 20,000 deaths since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Since President Kais Saied seized all the powers in July 2021, the crossings to Europe of Tunisians desperate by the economic crisis hitting their country have continued at a steady pace.
The departure of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa accelerated in March and April after a speech on February 21 by President Saied who denounced the arrival of “hordes of migrants”.
Hundreds of irregular migrants had then lost their informal jobs or their homes, and dozens of attacks had been recorded in the country.
After tensions and clashes that caused the death of a Tunisian on July 3, hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants were arrested and driven out of Sfax (center-east), a port city that has become the first point of departure in Tunisia for emigration to Italy.
A total of 1,200 Africans were then “expelled” by the Tunisian police to inhospitable border areas with Libya and Algeria, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch.
On Wednesday, an AFP team collected the harrowing testimonies of 140 people, including pregnant women and children, abandoned three weeks ago in the desert area of Ras Jedir, on the border between Libya and Tunisia, where at least 200 other migrants.
Left without water or food on the edge of a salt marsh, they receive a little bit of help from the Libyan authorities, via the local Red Crescent.
Fatima, a 36-year-old Nigerien, and her husband were separated from their three-year-old child, who remained in Sfax. “The Tunisian soldiers brought us here. We don’t have a phone or money. They took everything from us.”
“The Libyans are not allowing us to enter their territory and the Tunisians are preventing us from coming back. We are stuck. Help us!” implored George, a 43-year-old Nigerian, calling on Europe.
The European Union signed in mid-July “a strategic partnership” which provides for the granting of 105 million euros to Tunisia to fight against illegal immigration, including 15 million to finance 6,000 “voluntary returns” of migrants sub-Saharans in their countries.
Two United Nations agencies, the UNHCR and the IOM, launched an appeal on Thursday “to provide crucial and vital humanitarian aid” to migrants stranded at the borders, recalling that several have died.
“Saving lives must be the priority and those stranded must be brought to safety,” they wrote.
07/27/2023 19:13:35 – Tunis (AFP) – © 2023 AFP