Tunisia finds more bodies of immigrants, bringing total to 210 in 10 days

Tunisian authorities have recovered the bodies of 210 irregular migrants who drowned off the country’s coast last week, said a statement issued by the country’s gendarmerie force on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Tunisian National Guard spokesman, Hosam Eddin Al-Jababli, said in a statement that “210 bodies of irregular migrants were recovered by the naval guard units”.

“The recovered bodies belonged to migrants from sub-Sahara African countries,” Al-Jababli said.

The search operations took place in the coastal cities of Sfax, Kerkennah and Mahdia from 18 to 27 April, according to the spokesman.

Tunisia has less than 150 kilometres (90 miles) of coastline, with Lampedusa, an Italian island that is the ideal first destination for irregular migrants attempting the perilous sea journey from North Africa to Europe.

For years, North African countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, and Morocco have witnessed attempts by migrants – mainly from sub-Saharan Africa – to reach Europe, hoping for a better life.

According to Tunisian authorities, over 20,000 irregular migrants had been arrested in 2021.

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