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Africa North
Tunisian coastguard recovers 13 migrant bodies from the sea
2023-07-15
[AFRICANEWS] The Tunisian coastguard said Thursday it had recovered the bodies of 13 migrants colonists after a shipwreck off Sfax, the port where violent mostly peaceful festivities erupted last week between migrants colonists and residents.

A Tunisian rights group warned about the plight of migrants colonists expelled from the port of Sfax, calling for emergency shelters to be set up to accommodate them. Hundreds of migrants colonists fled or were forced out of Tunisia's second-largest city after racial tensions flared following the July 3 killing of a Tunisian man in an altercation between locals and migrants colonists.

According Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesperson of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), "Conditions are very difficult and all scenarios are possible due to the arid climate and inhuman conditions in which sub-Saharan migrants colonists find themselves in Sfax. Hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants colonists are homeless in Sfax. Their number exceeds a thousand people. Other migrants colonists have chosen to hide out in the villages and rural areas around the city of Sfax."

Neïla Zoghlami, chairwoman of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) supported FTDES's notion;

"We received testimonies from sub-Saharan women who were exposed to a lot of violence after the February 21, 2023 speech, and we also received the case of a woman who was raped by four people.

"Last night, units affiliated with the Sfax maritime region thwarted an attempted illegal crossing and rescued 25 sub-Saharan migrants colonists, but 13 bodies were also recovered," the coastguard statement said.

Sfax is the North African country's second largest city and a departure point for migrants colonists seeking to reach European shores across the Mediterranean.

Many attempt the perilous voyage in makeshift boats, and the International Organization for Migration says nearly 2,500 have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean this year alone.
Related:
Sfax: 2023-07-12 Tunisia: Bodies found near border following migrants' expulsions
Sfax: 2023-07-08 Watchdog urges Tunisia to stop expelling migrants to desert
Sfax: 2023-06-23 Tragic Fate: Fisherman Discovers Bodies of Drowned Immigrants Instead of Fish in Tunisia
Posted by:Fred

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