The Tunisian authorities announced on Sunday 26 March that at least 29 sub-Saharan migrants drowned in three different shipwrecks off the coast of Tunisia while trying to reach the Italian coast of Lampedusa Island.
According to a statement by the spokesperson of the Tunisian National Guard, the rescue operations undertaken in recent days in Tunisia have resulted in the recovery of the bodies of 29 irregular African migrants and the rescue of 11 others on Saturday night, after the sinking of their boats off the Tunisian coast.
First, a Tunisian trawler recovered 19 bodies of migrants after a boat sank 58 kilometres off the coast. Then, Naval Guard units in the city of Mahdia, east of Tunisia, succeeded in recovering the bodies of 8 people and rescuing 11 others, all sub-Saharan, after their boat sank. Finally, two fishing boats also recovered two bodies of migrants off Sfax, in the south of the country.
According to a provisional report by the Tunisian authorities, at least 29 bodies of migrants were found dead in the Mediterranean Sea after three separate boats sank. Tunisia is like a crossroads between Africa and Europe. Most African migrants stay there and then attempt to migrate illegally by sea to Europe. From there, they were trying to reach the Italian coast on the island of Lampedusa. The latter is some 150 kilometres from parts of the Tunisian coastline.
Moreover, it should be noted that these series of shipwrecks occur in an anti-migrant climate in Tunisia, after the speech of President Kaïs Saïed who called on 21 February, to put an end to the presence of “hordes of illegal migrants” from sub-Saharan Africa.
In this hostile environment where they have lost work and housing due to the campaign against illegal immigrants, the only alternative is either to continue the adventure to Europe or to return to the country of origin. Series of repatriations are organised by their respective countries for those volunteers who decide to turn back.
