Migrant boat sinks off Tunisia – At least 34 missing

At least 34 immigrants from sub-Saharan African countries are missing, after the shipwreck of the vessel in which they were on board off her Tunisiaa court spokesman pointed out.

The boat, which left on Thursday from the Sfax region towards the Italian coast, mcarried 38 people, four of whom were rescuedexplained Fauzi Mashmoudi, the representative of the first instance court of Sfax, which has undertaken the investigation into the incident.

According to him, all the Immigrants those on board were citizens of sub-Saharan African countries, a community targeted by Tunisian President Kais Sagitt a few weeks ago.

The non-governmental organization Alarm Phone, a group of volunteers who run an emergency hotline for migrants in danger, said on Twitter yesterday morning that “40 people are at risk of drowning in the central Mediterranean”.

“We were informed of a ship that was in danger while trying to leave Tunisia. The people complained that the so-called Tunisian coast guard removed the engine (from the boat), beat some of them and abandoned them in the sea. End this violence”the NGO added.

On February 21, Saget said that the presence in Tunisia of “hordes” of irregular immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa is a source of “violence and criminality” and spoke of “a criminal organization” which aims to “change the demographic composition” of the country.

“Migration pressure”

Following these statements by the Tunisian president, many of the 21,000 immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa registered in Tunisia, most of whom live in the country without papers, have lost their jobs and their homes due to the campaign against irregular immigrants.

Most African migrants arrive in Tunisia with the intention of trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Some coastal areas of Tunisia are less than 150 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa.

After Saget’s comments, which NGOs described as “racist and hateful”, attacks on migrants increased, with dozens of them rushing to their countries’ embassies to demand repatriation.

At least four fatal shipwrecks of boats carrying migrants, including yesterday’s, have been recorded off Tunisia since early March.

The spokesman for the Tunisian National Guard said yesterday that 1,080 migrants, including 25 Tunisians, were arrested on Thursday off the country’s coast, on boats bound for the Italian coast.

The same spokesman had said on Thursday that another 2,034 migrants were arrested between Wednesday and Thursday, while seven more, from sub-Saharan Africa, drowned when the boat they were on sank.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni yesterday called for support for Tunisia, which is facing a serious economic crisis, in order to limit “the migratory pressure” from that country to Europe.

Tunisia has been negotiating a loan of around $2 billion from the IMF for several months but talks appear to have stalled after the agreement in principle announced in mid-October.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, assessed on Monday that the situation in Tunisia is “very dangerous” and even spoke of a risk of “collapse” of the state that would lead to “immigration flows to the EU and instability in the Middle East and North Africa”.

This analysis, however, was rejected by Tunis as “disproportionate”.