The Tunisian Coast Guard rescued more than a thousand immigrants in one night and thwarted 25 irregular immigration operations
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On Friday, March 10, 2023, the Tunisian Coast Guard announced that it had thwarted 25 irregular migration operations and rescued more than a thousand migrants in one night off the country’s eastern coast.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that “25 sea border crossing operations were thwarted by stealth and rescue, and 1,008 pedestrians were rescued last night by the Naval Guard regions in the center and the coast.”
The migrants who were rescued are 54 Tunisians and 954 from sub-Saharan African countries.
On Thursday, March 9, the Coast Guard announced that 14 migrants from sub-Saharan African countries had drowned off the coast of Tunisia, where migrants are facing a difficult situation, following a speech by President Kais Saied about irregular migrants.
This incident comes while a large number of immigrants want to leave Tunisia after statements described as “racist” by Tunisian President Qais Saeed.
There are more than 21,000 immigrants of these nationalities in Tunisia, including students, according to official statistics.
Tunisia represents a transit point for thousands of immigrants from sub-Saharan countries who are heading on irregular journeys by sea to the European coasts, particularly Italy.
In a statement published Thursday, the Coast Guard forces announced that they had thwarted 14 rescue and rescue operations for 435 migrants, nine Tunisians and 426 from sub-Saharan African countries.
Italy receives large numbers of immigrants from Tunisia across the Mediterranean. According to official figures, this country received more than 32,000 immigrants in 2022, including 18,000 Tunisians.
Tunisia, whose coast is less than 150 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa, regularly records attempts to leave migrants to Italy.