There have been 52,972 attempts by migrants to cross Tunisia’s maritime borders to reach Europe since the beginning of 2024, Tunisia’s Interior Minister Kamel Feki has said.
The minister was addressing the opening session of the ‘Arab forum to stop migrant trafficking and promote safe and regular migration pathways’ on May 22 in Tunis.
Overall, Feki said, 4,336 migrants of those attempting to leave by boat were intercepted at sea, of whom 4,243 (98 percent) were nationals of countries other than Tunisia.
As it is common for migrants to make repeated attempts at the journey, it is likely that the figure of nearly 53,000 cited by the minister refers to apprehensions, rather than the number of individuals leaving the country, however, InfoMigrants was unable to confirm this.
Nearly 600 traffickers arrested
At the event, which was held in cooperation with the Naif Arab University and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the minister also said that security and military forces had arrested 595 smugglers and organizers of illegal crossings and seized 429 boats.
“During this period, 3,369 departure attempts were foiled, 103 boats sank and 341 bodies were retrieved, of which 336 were of foreign migrants,” Feki said.
“The phenomenon of irregular migration is closely connected to human and migrant trafficking crimes, which are today managed by specialized international networks,” he added.
23,000 irregular sub-Saharan migrants
Addressing a parliamentary hearing this week, Feki said that some 23,000 sub-Saharan migrants are currently living in Tunisia in an irregular situation, while 9,000 are in a regular position, an MP representing the constituency of Hammamet, Yassine Mami, told local radio Mosaique FM.
Mami also said that, according to the interior minister, 27 different sub-Saharan nationalities are currently present in Tunisia.
The minister has also reportedly told the commission for external relations and international cooperation of the Tunisian parliament that in 2023, officials stopped over 130,000 attempts to cross Tunisian land borders.
