A boat that sank off Tunisia’s coast left 10 bodies. This brings the total to 29 dead, according to a security official.
Houssem Jebabli from the national guard said that the boat went under off the coast Mahdia. He did not provide any further information.
This is just the latest in a string of small boat tragedies off the coast of the country. Five boats have gone down off Sfax, in the last four days, leaving 75.
The number of boats headed to Italy has increased significantly, according to the coastguard, which confirmed that it had stopped approximately 80 boats in the last four days and held more than 3,000 people mostly from sub-Saharan African nations.
Tunisian authorities weren’t immediately available to comment.
People fleeing poverty, conflict and violence in Africa and the Middle East have made the coast near Sfax their main point of departure in search of better lives in Europe.
This latest tragedy comes amid a campaign by Tunisian authorities to arrest undocumented sub Saharan Africans.
UN data shows that at least 12,000 migrants reached Italy from Tunisia this year, compared to 1,300 who arrived in the same time period in 2022. Libya used to be the main point of departure for migrants.
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According to FTDES statistics in Tunisia, more than 14,000 migrants were prevented from setting sail in boats by Tunisia’s coastguard during the first three months this year, compared to 2,900 last year.
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