TUNIS: Tunisia’s coast guard on Monday recovered the bodies of eight African refugees who drowned after their boat sank off the country’s coast as it tried to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe. a security official told Reuters, adding that 29 other people were rescued.
The vessel sank in waters off the city of Abwabed near Sfax, a departure point often used by African migrants. Search operations were underway for survivors and 29 had been found alive, national guard officer Houssem Eddine Jebabli said. The refugees were “all foreigners,” including some from sub-Saharan Africa and others of different nationalities, he said.
Tunisia is grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis and has replaced Libya as a major departure point for both Tunisians and others in Africa seeking a better life in Europe. It is a key transit country for thousands of sub-Saharan refugees seeking to reach Europe by sea each year, with Italy’s island of Lampedusa only 150 kilometers away.
This month authorities began dismantling informal camps near Sfax holding thousands of migrants, mainly from Sub-Saharan African countries. With the EU’s mounting efforts to curb migrant arrivals, many refugees feel stranded in Tunisia.
Tunisia signed a $290 million deal with the EU In 2023, nearly half of it earmarked for tackling irregular migration. The deal, strongly supported by Italy’s hard-right government, aimed to bolster Tunisia's capacity to prevent boats leaving its shore.
Frontex, the EU's border agency, has said that irregular border crossings were down 64 percent last year until September for the central Mediterranean route.