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Tunisia: Coast Guard vessel sank migrant boat ‘intentionally’

November 21, 2024 at 10:20 am

Irregular migrants are seen as an operation is carried out by coastguards teams of the Tunisian National Guard against the migrants who want to reach Europe illegally via the Mediterranean Sea, off the city of Sfax in Tunisia on August 12, 2023 [Yassine Gaidi – Anadolu Agency]

The Tunisian Coast Guard intentionally rammed and sank a boat carrying illegal migrants in the Mediterranean Sea before they could reach the Italian coast, Italian media have reported.

According to migration activist Majdi Karbai, the incident took place overnight on 7-8 November. He added that the survivors claimed that the Coast Guard vessel — part of the Tunisian Navy — rammed a boat carrying 80 people, including women, some of them pregnant, and children. Fifty-two of the migrants drowned, including one woman and her 3-year-old child.

“The survivors stayed at sea until a Tunisian fisherman rescued them and handed them over to the Coast Guard to hand over to Libyan security forces”, added the former Tunisian MP.

“It is unfortunate that the Tunisian Navy is involved in the killing of these people, most of whom are migrants and refugees from Sudan who have fled the horrors of war. Beware of such practices. There is international law and there are consequences, and such crimes are not subject to any statute of limitations time limit for prosecution,” explained Karbai. “It is unfortunate that we become the border guards of Europe and do its ‘dirty work’ for money.”

He pointed out that the incident was reported by survivors and was covered by several Italian and international media outlets.

This is not the first such incident. Two years ago, a video of members of the Tunisian Coast Guard sinking a boat carrying irregular migrants sparked a wave of condemnation in the country.

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