TUNIS: At least 39 migrants drowned off Tunisia when two boats capsized on Tuesday, the defense ministry said, as numbers risking the dangerous crossing to Europe continue to rise.
Rescuers pulled 165 survivors from the floundering boats out of the sea to safety.
It was not immediately clear what caused both boats to capsize, but vessels leaving the North African coast for Europe are often heavily overloaded makeshift crafts, departing at night even in rough weather to avoid detection from the coast guard.
Tunisian National Guard spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli said the “search is still on for survivors and bodies.”
The defense ministry said 39 bodies had been retrieved so far, with children among the dead, but no further details were given.
The boats left shore overnight carrying mainly migrants from sub-Saharan Africa dreaming of reaching Europe, but they were spotted by the coast guard off the Tunisian port of Sfax, according to the authorities.
Last year saw an upsurge of makeshift boats attempting to cross the central Mediterranean, the deadliest route for would-be migrants to Europe.
Such vessels have continued to take to the sea almost daily this year, despite frequent poor weather.
“Departures have continued to rise,” said Romdhane Ben Amor, of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.
Since the beginning of 2021, 94 migrant boats have been intercepted, according to a count kept by his organization, against 47 in same period of 2020.
Meanwhile, 1,736 people have been arrested for attempting the crossing, around double the number in the same period last year.
Between January 1 and February 21, 3,800 migrants arrived illegally in Italy by sea, according to the UN refugee agency, including nearly 1,000 via Tunisia, and 2,500 via neighboring Libya.
Among illegal arrivals in Italy during 2020, Tunisian citizens constituted the biggest national contingent, numbering 12,000, the UNHCR said.
But many foreign nationals have also used Tunisia as a jumping off point for Europe.
Since the start of 2021, over half of migrants arrested in waters off Tunisia were from sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights.
In February, 22 migrants of various African nationalities who departed Sidi Mansour, near the city of Sfax, disappeared at sea, while 25 were rescued by the Tunisian navy around 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa. One body was retrieved.
In January, the Tunisian navy intercepted 50 migrants, including four Tunisians.
At least 39 migrants drown off Tunisia as two boats capsize
https://arab.news/g3g4v
At least 39 migrants drown off Tunisia as two boats capsize
- Tunisian defense ministry said 39 bodies had been retrieved so far, with children among the dead
- The boats left shore overnight carrying mainly migrants from sub-Saharan Africa dreaming of reaching Europe
Pakistanis fleeing Iran describe strikes shaking ground under their feet
- Nearly 1,000 students, businessmen and pilgrims have fled Iran since the war started out of a total 35,000 Pakistanis in the country
QUETTA: Pakistanis fleeing Iran described explosions and missile strikes across Tehran shaking the ground under their feet and engulfing buildings in fire and smoke in a city emptied of many of its residents. The conflict has widened sharply, with a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka on Wednesday and NATO air defenses destroying an Iranian missile fired toward Turkiye.
Governments have been scrambling to evacuate stranded citizens, with most of the region’s airspace closed due to the risk of missiles hitting passenger planes.
“I was in the classroom when a powerful explosion rocked our university building,” Hareem Zahra, 23, a student at the Tehran University of Engineering, told Reuters after crossing Pakistan’s land border with Iran.
“We saw thick smoke coming from many buildings on fire,” she said, adding Tehran was under attack until the moment she left.
TEHRAN LOOKED DESERTED
Nearly 1,000 students, businessmen and pilgrims have fled Iran since the war started out of a total 35,000 Pakistanis in the country, Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Tehran, said.
“There are now serious challenges. As you know there is no Internet in most parts of Iran,” he said. Iran has retaliated with a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Israel and Washington’s allies in the Gulf, including Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, following US and Israeli air strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
Tehran has looked deserted since the conflict began, said Nadir Abbas, 25, a student of Persian literature at a university in the Iranian capital.
“I saw a drone hit a basketball court where six girl players lost their lives.”
Reuters could not verify his account.
DESTRUCTION EVERYWHERE
Islamabad is walking a diplomatic tightrope as it attempts to maintain warming ties with Washington while expressing solidarity with Iran.
Pakistan is home to the second-largest Shiite population in the world after Iran and being drawn into the conflict could lead to instability at home as well as complications evacuating its citizens.
“The first attack happened right next to my hospital,” said Sakhi Aun Mohammad, a student at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. After he reached the border, an Iranian friend called to check if he was safe, saying: “’Thank God, you have gone to Pakistan, all of you are safe, but your hostel has been attacked’.” A Pakistani diplomat who is still in Tehran said attacks took place every four or five hours, adding one missile struck a building next to his office. “At times you will feel as if something exploded right at your feet,” he said. “The last time I got out was at night. Buildings had collapsed, some others were on fire. There is destruction everywhere.”
He added: “It is almost like a ghost town.”
