The National Guard in Tunisia announced today, Tuesday, that the coast guard intercepted more than 2,500 migrants and arrested dozens of human traffickers following a large-scale operation that began last Friday in the coastal region of Sfax, which is a key departure point for migrants heading to Italian shores.
The operation, involving hundreds of security forces supported by anti-terror units, aircraft, and trained dogs, was ordered by President Kais Saied in response to escalating waves of migration. This comes as the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy faces a record number of migrants arriving by boats from North Africa.
Approximately ten thousand migrants arrived on the island last week, dealing a blow to the credibility of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who won her position last year by promising to curb illegal immigration.
The Tunisian National Guard stated in a report today that the coast guard apprehended 62 traffickers, as well as seized and destroyed dozens of boats as part of this campaign. Additionally, they prevented around 1,900 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from entering Tunisia through land borders.
Tunisia is facing its worst migration crisis, with many migrants arriving mainly via land borders from Algeria. Officials reported that the Tunisian coast guard recovered 920 bodies of drowned migrants off the country’s shores from January 1 to the end of August this year, an unprecedented number.
