ZARZIS, Tunisia: Six migrants drowned and 30 were missing Thursday off the coast of Tunisia after their boat sank during a bid to reach Europe, authorities and the Red Crescent said.
Coast guard units rescued a further 34 passengers after the vessel sank off Zarzis near the Libyan border, Tunisian defense ministry spokesman Mohamed Zekri told AFP.
Survivors had said 70 people had been aboard, including Egyptians, Sudanese and a Moroccan, when the boat set off from Libya headed for European shores, he added.
A search and rescue operation was underway for the remaining passengers, he said.
The survivors were taken to a port in Ben Guerdane, according to Tunisian Red Crescent official Mongi Slim.
Both Tunisia and Libya have served as launchpads for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe, especially in the chaos in Libya that followed the toppling of Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
The Central Mediterranean route has become the world’s deadliest migration trail, according to humanitarian groups.
Departures surged rapidly in 2021, with almost 55,000 migrants reaching Italy in the first 10 months of the year compared with under 30,000 the previous year, according to Rome.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights says that over the first three quarters of last year, the coast guard intercepted 19,500 migrants during crossing attempts.
The United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR says at least 1,300 disappeared or drowned over the same period.
Six migrants drown off Tunisia, 30 missing
https://arab.news/n73s8
Six migrants drown off Tunisia, 30 missing
- Coast guard units rescued a further 34 passengers after the vessel sank off Zarzis near the Libyan border
- Survivors had said 70 people had been aboard, including Egyptians, Sudanese and a Moroccan
Israeli foreign minister visiting Somaliland, sources say
- Territory lies in northwestern Somalia along strategic Gulf of Aden and shares land borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti
- Netanyahu has said Israel would pursue cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology, and has invited Somaliland’s president to visit Israel
NAIROBI/JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia, on Tuesday, two sources told Reuters, 10 days after Israel formally recognized the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent state.
One of the sources, a senior Somaliland official, said Saar would meet Somaliland’s President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to discuss ways to enhance bilateral ties. The second source confirmed the Israeli minister’s presence in Somaliland.
The Israeli foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Saar was in Somaliland.
Israel formally recognized Somaliland as a sovereign state on December 27, a move that drew criticism from Somalia, which has long opposed Somaliland’s efforts to secede. No other country has formally recognized Somaliland.
At the time, Abdullahi said Somaliland would join the Abraham Accords, a deal brokered by the Trump administration in 2020 that saw Gulf states the United Arab Emirates — a close partner of Somaliland — and Bahrain establish ties with Israel.
Somaliland, once a British protectorate, has for decades sought formal recognition as an independent state, though it has signed bilateral agreements with various foreign governments on investments and security coordination.
The territory lies in northwestern Somalia along the strategic Gulf of Aden and shares land borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland follows two years of increasingly strained ties with many of its closest partners over the war in Gaza and policies in the West Bank.
Strategic location
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would pursue cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology, and the economy, and has invited Somaliland’s president to visit Israel.
Somaliland sits across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthis have launched long-range missile and drone attacks on Israel since October 2023, coinciding with the Gaza war.
Somaliland has denied that the recognition agreement allows for Israel to establish military bases there, or for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel’s government has advocated for what officials describe as voluntary Palestinian migration from Gaza.
