13 migrants found dead off Tunisian coast
Thirteen bodies believed to be of sub-Saharan African migrants have been found dead off Tunisia’s eastern coast, according to the Arab News via AFP.
The bodies were discovered off the coastal towns of Salakta and Chebba on September 24th said Farid Ben Jha, spokesman for the public prosecution in the Monastir and Mahdia governates. He added that an investigation had begun but gave no further information.
Tunisia and its neighbour Libya have become hotspots for migrants, often from other countries, who are trying get to Europe through a perilous journey across the Mediterranean.
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Tens of thousands attempt the crossing annually, with Italy— whose Lampedusa island is only 150 kilometers (90 miles) from Tunisia — often their first port of call. At least 103 makeshift boats have capsized in 2024, and Tunisia’s interior ministry says 341 bodies have been recovered off its coast.
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Tunisia’s FTDES rights group reported that more than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off the country’s coast. More than 30,309 migrants have died in the Mediterranean in the past decade, including more than 3,000 last year, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
AFP
