Fourteen migrants drowned off Tunisia

New drama in the Mediterranean. Fourteen migrants from sub-Saharan African countries drowned and 54 others were rescued after the sinking of the boat carrying them off Tunisia, the coast guard announced on Thursday (March 9th). The boat carrying these migrants sank off Sfax overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.

According to the spokesperson for the Tunisian National Guard, the coast guards foiled a total of 14 attempts at illegal sea crossings overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. They have “rescued” 435 migrants, including 426 from sub-Saharan Africa, off the coasts of central and eastern Tunisia. The National Guard strives to fight “against gangs involved in organizing illegal immigration operations”which put migrants on “Death Boats”.

Thousands of attempts to leave for Italy

Tunisia, a North African country with certain stretches of coastline located less than 150 km from the Italian island of Lampedusa, very regularly records attempts to leave migrants for Italy. According to official Italian figures, more than 32,000 migrants, including 18,000 Tunisians, arrived in Italy illegally from Tunisia in 2022.

In another tragedy on February 26, at least 72 people, including fifteen minors, lost their lives after their boat sank near Crotone in Calabria (Italy). Three people suspected of being smugglers had been arrested. According to Italian media, they are suspected of having charged between 5,000 and 8,000 euros for each migrant they had boarded in Turkey three days earlier.