At least 10 Tunisian migrants were missing and one died after their boat sank off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a judicial official said on Sunday. Tunisia is under pressure from European countries to stop large numbers of people departing from its coasts. The North African country hosts around 21,000 undocumented migrants from other parts of Africa, less than 0.2 per cent of the population. Others have sought to reach Europe in unseaworthy boats from Tunisia, whose coast lies about 130 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa at its closest point. Rome said in February that more than 32,000 migrants, including 18,000 Tunisians, reached Italy from Tunisia last year, while thousands more have departed from neighbouring Libya.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 09, 2023 11:45 UTC