6 Aug 2019; MEMO: African migrants have sent a distress call after Tunisian authorities left them behind on Libyan borders suffering harsh weather conditions.
The Tunisian authorities expelled these Ivorian migrants and sent to the Libyan-Tunisian border
The Tunisian authorities deported 36 Ivorian migrants after being arrested in Sfax. They were taken to the Tunisian-Libyan border and then left behind in the middle of the desert because they entered the country using illegal ways.
Several human rights organisations declared during a statement that: “Unfortunately, 36 Ivorian migrants, including three babies and 11 women, some of whom are pregnant, were arrested in a house in Sfax on the pretext of getting prepared to carry out an illegal migration. They were then taken to the Tunisian-Libyan border and asked to go to Libya on foot after leaving them in the middle of the desert. ”
The organisations expressed their anger at the disregard for the lives of the migrants as well as their children. They called on the Tunisian authorities to allow migrants to enter the Tunisian territory so that humanitarian organisations would take care of them.
The Tunisian Ministry of Defense revealed that 20 Sudanese and 33 Ivorian were sent back to Libyan soil.
“The issue of migrants and refugees is not the responsibility of the Tunisian government, and all countries must assume their responsibility. The authorities are working to prepare themselves to confront this crisis,” said the Tunisian Prime Minister.
The geographical location of Tunisia in northern Africa is a starting point for migrants wishing to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. Thus, the European Union had to conclude agreements with Tunisia to curb illegal immigration, most notably the 2014 Partnership Agreement on Mobility.
