According to the
Tunisian National Guard, a boat carrying African migrants seeking to reach
Europe capsized off the coast of Tunisia on Thursday, killing at least 14 of
them while saving 54 others.
According to
Houssameddine Jbabli, a spokesman for the National Guard, the 14 bodies were
found overnight in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of downtown Sfax,
Tunisia. The National Guard did not disclose the migrants' nationalities, only
that they were from sub-Saharan Africa.
14 additional boats
carrying a total of 435 migrants that were trying a similar voyage from the
central and southern parts of Tunisia were stopped that same night by coast
guard vessels, according to Jbabli.
Despite the fact that
the central Mediterranean is the most perilous migrant route in the world,
according to the International Organization for Migration, people frequently
board boats off the coast of Tunisia and travel toward Europe. The majority of
those taking the risky trek are from sub-Saharan Africa, but there are also
Tunisians and people of other nationalities.
As President Kais
Saied lashed out at sub-Saharan migrants, Tunisian police have increased the
arrests of Africans without residency documents. The remarks sparked an
increase in racial incidents in Tunisia that targeted Black Africans.