The most recent accident off Tunisia claimed at least 19 African migrants as victims

In the most recent migrant boat accident near Tunisia, at least 19 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died when their boat capsized as they attempted to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, according to a human rights group on Sunday.

Following a large surge of boats traveling towards Italy, five migrant boats have sunk in the previous four days off the southern city of Sfax, leaving 67 people missing and nine people dead.

Five persons were rescued by the Tunisian coast guard from a boat off the coast of Mahdia after setting out from the beaches of Sfax, according to Romadan ben Omar, a representative of the Forum for Social and Economic Rights (FTDES).

The Tunisian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the last four days, the coast guard claimed to have halted over 80 boats headed for Italy and captured more than 3,000 migrants, the most of them were from sub-Saharan African nations.

In contrast to the same period in 2022, when only 1,300 migrants arrived in Italy from Tunisia, at least 12,000 did so this year. In the past, Libya served as the main point of departure for migrants.

The Tunisian coast guard stopped more than 14,000 migrants from leaving aboard boats during the first three months of this year, compared to 2,900 during the same period last year, according to FTDES statistics.

On Thursday, the Italian coast guard reported that in two operations off the southern Italian coast, it had saved roughly 750 migrants.

If Tunisia’s financial stability is not preserved, Europe runs the risk of seeing a massive influx of migrants from North Africa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday. Meloni urged the IMF and a few nations to assist Tunisia right away in order to prevent its demise.

(Reuters)