Tunisia: Officials have reported that at least 34 refugees are still missing after their boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia, the latest tragedy this month.

According to Mr. Fawzi El Masmoudi, a port city court spokesman, the boat departed from a location close to Sfax and was attempting to sail the Mediterranean to reach Italy. As other ships moved towards Italy, the event brought the overall number of missing people to 67.

Hours after at least five individuals perished and 33 went missing in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia, the Italian coastguard announced that it had saved approximately 750 refugees in two operations off the southern coast of Italy.

According to Mr. Houssem Jebabli, a representative of the Tunisian national guard, in just two days the coastguard had intercepted 56 boats headed for Italy and had taken in more than 3,000 refugees, most of whom were from sub-Saharan Africa.

In contrast to 1,300 in the same period in 2022, at least 12,000 refugees who have arrived in Italy this year have sailed from Tunisia, according to UN figures. In the past, Libya served as the primary launching point for refugees from the area.

People fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East and looking for a better life in Europe frequently leave from the shoreline of Sfax. Sub-Saharan Africans living in Tunisia have been living in fear ever since President Mr. Kais Saied made an explosive speech last month accusing them of being a threat to the country’s demographics and fueling a crime wave.

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