16 bodies of migrants recovered off Tunisian coast
Tunisia’s coast guard has recovered the bodies of 16 migrants, the national guard said on October 28th according to the Arab News via Reuters.
It said the bodies were discovered off the cost of the towns of Maloulech, Salakta and Chebba. “The bodies were found at the weekend and on Monday… The victims have not been identified because the bodies had decomposed,” Houssem Eddine Jebabli, senior national guard official, told Reuters.
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The events follow the deaths of at least 15 Tunisians, including three infants, when a boat sank off the coast of Djerba last month. Ten people also went missing following the disaster, as they sought to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The bodies of 13 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were also recovered last month in the same area.
Tunisia is facing an unprecedented migration crisis, and now ranks as the major department point both for Tunisians and Africans in general seeking a better life in Europe, replacing Libya which the former main point of departure.
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Tunisia has also signed a controversial migration deal with the EU. The European Commission recently refused to release information gathered in a report on the treatment of migrants by Tunisian authorities, as reported by The Guardian.
Reuters, The Guardian
