Tunisian Authorities Rescue 267 South Asian Migrants From Mediterranean Sea

By Chioma Iruke

267 south Asian migrants have been rescued by Tunisian authorities, out of which 264 from Bangladesh, tried to sail from Libya to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday.

The migrants were placed in quarantine at a hotel on the Tunisian island of Djerba, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

According to IOM figures, more than 1,000 migrants hoping to reach Europe had set off from Libya and ended up in Tunisia since January, and the number of departures is rising.

There have been 11,000 departures from January to April 2021 from Libya, 70 per cent more than in the same period last year, according to UN refugee agency UNHCR.

The agency said the “deteriorating” conditions of migrants in Libya and Tunisia are pushing many to make the dangerous crossing from the North African coast to Europe.

Red Crescent official, Mongi Slim said centres set up to house migrants in Tunisia are full.

According to the UN, at least 760 people have died making the Mediterranean crossing between January 1 and May 31, compared with 1,400 last year.

According to a coastguard, the navy helped bring the migrants to shore at the Ben Guerdane port in southern Tunisia, near the border with Libya after their boat broke down, and they were handed over to the IOM and the Red Crescent.