Migrant boat sinks off Tunisia, 19 dead

On March 25, the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) - an organization that monitors migration issues - said that at least 19 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died in a boat sinking off the coast of Tunisia while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.

Romadan ben Omar, an official at FTDES, said the boat was found off the coast of Mahdia after a journey from Sfax in southern Tunisia. The Tunisian coast guard rescued five survivors.

Five migrant boats have sunk off the coast of Sfax in the past four days, killing nine people and leaving 67 missing. The Tunisian coast guard said it had intercepted about 80 boats heading to Italy and detained more than 3,000 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries.

The coast of Sfax is one of the main departure points for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe . The accidents come amid a surge in the number of boats carrying migrants from Tunisia to Italy as the North African country steps up its crackdown on undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

According to unofficial UN data, 12,000 migrants have arrived in Italy from Tunisia so far this year, compared with 1,300 in the same period in 2022. Libya has previously been a major transit point for migrants from North Africa.

VIET CHUNG

Migrant boat sinks in Türkiye

At least seven people were killed and 64 were rescued when a boat carrying migrants sank in Lake Van, in Türkiye's eastern Bitlis province, on the morning of December 26.