900 Tunisians missing after trying to cross Mediterranean to Europe this year
TUNIS, Tunisia – In the past 24 hours, the Tunisian Coast Guard foiled 13 attempts by boats carrying illegal migrants and rescued at least 700 people, including five Tunisian families with children.
One of those rescued, Reda Haji, said the situation in Tunisia was “extremely difficult”
She said some people are so desperate that they tried to throw themselves and their children into the sea during the rescue operation.
According to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, more than 900 Tunisian illegal immigrants have disappeared this year while trying to make a dangerous journey to Europe.
Recent statistics show that from the beginning of the year to July, 35,134 Tunisian illegal immigrants entered Italy.
There has been a sharp increase in the number of desperate people fleeing poverty and poor governance in their home countries across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Many of them are unaware that this journey is often a trap set by human traffickers who abandon them on the open sea, where they perish.
The Tunisian National Guard has stepped up its efforts to combat irregular migration, but the number of people making the journey continues to rise.
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