BODIES OF 100 MIGRANTS WHO DROWNED OFF TUNISIA’S COAST ARE AWAITING BURIAL

Tue 16 April 2024:

A health official in Tunisia’s coastal region of Sfax has said that the number of drowned migrants has exceeded the capacity of the region’s hospital mortuary, which can take 35 corpses. There are around 100 awaiting burial at the moment, but even the local cemeteries are starting to fill up.

The Sfax coastline is a major departure point for irregular migration boats heading towards the Italian. With the onset of spring, human smuggling gangs and migration boats are more active. There have been many tragic drowning incidents involving migrants, most of whom are from sub-Saharan Africa, including women and children.

The local Tunisian authorities suffer from a lack of logistical capabilities to preserve bodies for longer periods until DNA tests are conducted and graves are provided.

Last week, the authorities launched a “crisis cell” to deal with the rise in illegal migration and drowning tragedies. In 2023, more than 1,300 migrants drowned off the coast of Tunisia, according to data from the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, which is concerned with migration issues.

Deadliest first quarter for refugees

January to March was the deadliest first quarter for central Mediterranean refugees and migrants since 2017, the United Nations said on Wednesday. It confirmed 441 deaths.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration said delays in government search and rescue operations played a part in deaths in several accidents during the perilous sea crossing from North Africa.

The agency said the 441 known deaths in the first three months of the year was likely an undercount of the true number.

Tuesday’s shipwreck was the latest tragedy after boats had capsized on Friday and Saturday off Tunisia, killing 27 people.

The number of such voyages has risen after Tunisian President Kais Saied in February ordered officials to take “urgent measures” to tackle “irregular immigration”.

Saied claimed, without evidence, that a “criminal plot” was under way to change Tunisia’s demographic makeup, sparking a wave of evictions and violence against Black refugees.

Tunisian police on Tuesday used tear gas to disperse homeless refugees who had been protesting outside the office of the UN Refugee Agency to demand their return to their home countries.

The National Guard said this month that more than 14,000 people, most of them from sub-Saharan Africa, were intercepted or rescued in the first three months of the year while trying to cross to Europe, five times more than figures recorded in the same period last year.

The sharp increase is partly due to Tunisia taking over from Libya as the main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in the hopes of a better life in Europe.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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