Tunisia: 10 bodies recovered off coast of Sfax over 48-hour period

Irregular migrants are seen with Tunisian National Guard off the city of Sfax in the south of Tunisia. [Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu Agency]

Tunisian authorities recovered ten bodies over a 48-hour period from the coast of Sfax on the Mediterranean, they revealed yesterday.

“Ten bodies were recovered in the last 48 hours by coast guard units on the coasts of Louata in Sfax,” the Tunisian National Guard, which is affiliated with the Ministry of the Interior, said in a brief statement.

Prosecutors in Sfax were authorised to take necessary measures regarding using forensic medicine to identify the victims, the statement continued.

Tunisia has witnessed a remarkable increase in the pace of irregular migration to Europe across the Mediterranean, especially towards the coasts of Italy, due to the repercussions of the economic and political crises in the region.

Earlier this year, Tunisian President Kais Saied said that his country refuses to be a transit country or settlement land for irregular migrants of sub-Saharan African origins.

READ: Tunisia rescues 15,000 migrants in first half of 2023

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