refugees
Again bodies found on Tunisia’s coast
Forces of the Tunisian coast guard in the port of Sfax next to covered corpses on a jetty (archive photo). photo
© Houssem Zouari/AP/dpa
The Tunisian coast becomes a mass grave for migrants. More than 200 bodies have been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea in the past ten days. People had tried to get to Italy.
Tunisia’s navy has once again recovered the dead of dozens of migrants after boat accidents off the coast of the North African country. A spokesman for the National Guard said a total of 210 bodies had been discovered in the past ten days.
The lifeless bodies were found near various coastal towns, including Sfax and Mahdia. The victims are said to be from sub-Saharan Africa.
A number of migrants are currently making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. The boats are often not seaworthy, and people keep dying during the crossing. Tunisia is now considered the most important transit country for migrants on their way to Italy.
People are being buried in a hurry
Many migrants have wanted to leave Tunisia since President Kais Saied announced tougher crackdowns on them in February. He accused them of bringing violence and crime into the country. Since then, hostilities and racist attacks have increased.
In the city of Sfax, people are being buried at a rapid pace after the mortuary of a university hospital there was completely overcrowded and local authorities sounded the alarm.
The crossing to Italy is extremely dangerous. From Sfax to the Italian island of Lampedusa off Sicily, boats have to cover around 180 kilometers. According to official figures from the Ministry of the Interior in Rome on Friday, almost 41,000 migrants have reached Italy by boat since the beginning of the year – in the same period last year there were around 10,000.