13 missing after Tunisia migrant boat disaster as Europe-backed crackdown intensifies

13 missing after Tunisia migrant boat disaster as Europe-backed crackdown intensifies.

Key points

• The boat set off early on Thursday, Mostafa Abdelkebir, the head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, informed Reuters.
• According to authorities, migrant departures from Tunisia have fallen sharply over two years against the backdrop of tighter maritime controls.
• The groups called on the EU to suspend funding for migration and border-control activities involving Tunisian security forces.
• One survivor remarked they were stranded at sea for hours after boat capsized.
• One of the two survivors informed rescuers in a local boat they had been stranded at sea for hours after their vessel capsized.

According to authorities, migrant departures from Tunisia have fallen sharply over two years against the backdrop of tighter maritime controls. Two individuals were rescued, with one in critical condition, office-holders noted. Boat set off early Thursday, according to migrant rights group chief.

At least 13 Tunisians are missing after a migrant boat sank off the Tunisian coast while sailing towards Italy, and two individuals were rescued, the head of a migrant rights group stated on Saturday.

Notably, the boat set off early on Thursday, Mostafa Abdelkebir, the head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, informed Reuters.

One of the two survivors informed rescuers in a local boat they had been stranded at sea for hours after their vessel capsized. The second survivor was in critical condition, remarked Abdelkebir, whose group monitors migration matters.

Tunisia was once a major departure point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, but departures have fallen sharply over the past two years against the backdrop of a crackdown and tighter maritime controls, backed by European funding and modern border-monitoring equipment, particularly from Italy.

Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and dozens of other human rights and humanitarian groups remarked in an official note last month that the EU-Tunisia migration agreement had fuelled and normalised serious abuses against migrants and asylum seekers in Tunisia.

For context, the groups called on the EU to suspend funding for migration and border-control activities involving Tunisian security forces.

Tunisia has not commented on the statement but has repeatedly remarked it is bearing the brunt of a major migration influx. President Kais Saied remarked in 2023 that the influx was aimed at changing the country's demographic makeup.

In practice, the central Mediterranean route is one of the world's deadliest migration routes, applied by migrants from Africa and the Middle East seeking to reach Europe, often in overcrowded or unseaworthy boats. Bangladesh elects ruling party veteran Alamgir as president.

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In short, 13 missing after Tunisia migrant boat disaster as Europe is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.