267 irregular migrants rescued off Tunisia coast 

The Tunisian Coast Guard yesterday rescued 267 irregular migrants who were on board a boat near the southern coast of the city of Ben Gardane near the border with Libya.

Mongi Selim, head of the Tunisian Red Crescent’s subsidiary body in the Medenine governorate, told Anadolu Agency that 267 irregular migrants were rescued after their boat broke down near the coast of Ben Gardane.

Selim said that 264 of the migrants are Bangladeshi nationals, while the remaining three are Egyptian, adding that “the migrants will be transferred to a hotel on the island of Djerba for quarantine.”

The southern coasts of Tunisia are stages for almost daily rescue operations of irregular migrants, after their boats break down in the Mediterranean Sea as they head from Libya to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Irregular immigration rates via Tunisia have increased since the January 2011 revolution, as immigrants took advantage of the lack of security at the time. However, the phenomenon was quickly curbed after the authorities tightened security on smuggling networks.

Recently, Tunisia witnessed a significant increase in the number of irregular migrants heading to Europe, especially towards the coasts of Italy, in light of the repercussions of the economic and political crises in the country.

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