TUNIS, Tunisia
Tunisian authorities said Sunday they had intercepted more than 200 migrants trying to reach the Italian coast, in nine separate operations.
“In
the context of the fight against irregular immigration, units from the
northern, southern and central regions managed to thwart nine (sea crossing)
attempts” overnight Saturday to Sunday, national guard spokesman Houssem Eddine
Jebabli said.
The
interceptions took place both at sea and on the coast, assisting 223 migrants
from different African countries, including 111 Tunisians, the national guard
said.
Late
last month, Tunisia’s coast guard said it had thwarted six departure attempts
and rescued 125 Europe-bound migrants, 112 of them from sub-Saharan Africa.
Earlier
in October, four Tunisian migrants died and 19 others went missing after their
boat capsized off the country’s east coast.
More
than 58,800 migrants have managed to reach Italy since the start of the year,
most of them by sea, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
More
than 1,300 have died or gone missing while trying to make the Mediterranean
crossing, particularly to reach Italy, Spain and Greece.
Tunisia
is a key departure point for would-be migrants hoping to attempt the dangerous
sea crossing to Europe.
The
Italian island of Lampedusa is located just 140 kilometers (less than 90 miles)
from Tunisia’s east coast.
According
to the FTDES rights group, the Tunisian coast guard intercepted some 19,500
people attempting to cross the Mediterranean in the first nine months of this
year.
It
said the trend had accelerated since the establishment in June of a direct line
of communication between Rome and Tunis to coordinate efforts against illegal
immigration and share information.
Since
Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, political instability and socio-economic crisis have
worsened unemployment, which stands at 18% nationally but at more than 40
percent among young people.
According
to FTDES, the coast guard had intercepted 42,000 people between 2011 and 2020
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