Recovery of Bodies of 5 Migrants off the Tunisian Coast

The Tunisian National Guard reported today, Monday, that the Coast Guard recovered the bodies of 5 migrants off the Tunisian coast, bringing the total number of fatalities over the past week to 11 migrants. The statement added that the Coast Guard rescued 663 migrants amid a noticeable increase in the flow of boats migrating from Tunisia and Libya towards the Italian coast in recent weeks with the improvement of weather conditions. The General Administration of the Tunisian National Guard announced on March 9 that they had recovered 5 bodies and thwarted an illegal migration attempt involving 77 people before they could escape into the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe. The administration stated that the floating units in the maritime guard area of Jerjis managed to thwart an illegal maritime border crossing and rescued 24 migrants of various foreign nationalities.