A Tunisian judicial spokesperson confirmed, on Thursday, that 13 Sudanese migrants have lost their lives while the search continues for 27 others missing off the eastern coast of Tunisia following the sinking of their boat.
Fred Ben Jaha, the spokesperson for the Monastir court, stated that 42 migrants departed from the shores of the Jebeniana area in the province of Sfax, east of the country, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Ben Jaha added that two migrants were rescued, while the number of missing has risen from 17 to 27 migrants.
All these migrants were males and had asylum cards.
Ben Jaha further stated that an investigation has been opened to determine responsibilities, without ruling out the possibility that the migrants “were exploited in a human trafficking case or involved in a criminal gang to reach Europe illegally.”
He confirmed that operations are still ongoing to search for other migrants.
Tunisia, along with Libya, serves as a major departure point for thousands of migrants seeking to reach Europe.
Until November 2023, the Tunisian National Guard intercepted 69,963 migrants compared to 31,297 during the same period in 2022, according to statistics provided by National Guard spokesperson Hossam Eddin al-Jebali to Agence France-Presse earlier.
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 2,270 people died in 2023 in the central Mediterranean Sea while attempting to reach European shores illegally, an increase of 60% from the previous year.
It is worth mentioning that more than 25 million Sudanese have been affected by the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces for the past 10 months, leading to the displacement of about 10 million, with 1.5 million of them crossing borders to neighboring countries.
The current war in Sudan has caused one of the worst displacement catastrophes globally, with Sudanese refugees accounting for about 12% of the total displaced people in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration.