Tunisia foils 7 irregular immigration attempts to Europe

By Adel Thabeti

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) – Tunisia said Sunday it had thwarted seven irregular immigration attempts north of the country.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry’s Maritime Guard said 85 people had been arrested and six boats seized before setting out to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Tunisian authorities said that 1,509 irregular immigration attempts towards Italy had been aborted since the beginning of this year.

According to National Guard spokesman Hosam Eddin Al-Jababli, more than 7,000 Tunisians and 8,700 foreigners had attempted to illegally cross to Europe by sea.

For years, North African countries as Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, and Morocco have witnessed attempts by migrants – mainly from sub-Saharan Africa – to reach Europe, hoping for a better life. While some of the migrants manage to reach their destination, others often die during the journey.

According to Tunisian authorities, over 20,000 irregular migrants had been arrested in 2021.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar