Several boats confiscated
Tunisia arrests hundreds of migrants and many smugglers
September 16, 2023, 7:24 p.m
Tunisian authorities are launching a major operation against migrants and suspected smugglers. The action is ordered by President Saied – with whom the EU once concluded a controversial deal. Meanwhile, a dead newborn baby is found on a migrant boat.
The Tunisian security forces have deployed a large force against migrants and smugglers in several coastal cities in order to stop illegal immigration to Italy. Hundreds of migrants and numerous smugglers were arrested, eyewitnesses and authorities reported. Airplanes and anti-terror units were deployed, which, according to the government, was ordered by President Kais Saied. There were numerous raids. A number of boats were confiscated.
For weeks, hundreds of people have been arriving in overcrowded boats on the Italian island of Lampedusa every day. According to the Ansa news agency, the Italian coast guard discovered a dead newborn baby during a rescue operation on a migrant boat off the coast. It was born on the crossing and died shortly after birth. Lampedusa is currently being visited by numerous smuggler boats coming from North Africa. The Mediterranean island is only around 140 kilometers east of the Tunisian coast. Because of its proximity to North Africa, it is currently bearing the brunt of illegal migration.
Authorities searched homes
The target of the large-scale operation by the Tunisian security forces was the coastal towns of Sfax, Jebiniana, Kerkennah and Msatria. Sfax is the main departure port for the smuggler boats. According to eyewitnesses and authorities, units of the Tunisian National Guard searched numerous houses where hundreds of migrants were waiting to cross the Mediterranean. Security forces stopped trucks transporting people to beaches and seized smugglers’ boats.
To arrest the people smugglers, the special forces used aircraft as well as search dogs and military vehicles. The operation is aimed against smugglers who act on the fear of frustrated people, Houssem Jbebli from the National Guard told the press.
Tunisia is under intense pressure from Italy and the European Union, which has pledged one billion euros to the North African country to help its struggling economy in return for curbing illegal migration. But according to the local authorities, around 7,000 migrants from North Africa arrived on Lampedusa in the last two days alone – that’s more than the 6,000 locals on the small Mediterranean island. The EU was sometimes sharply criticized for the deal with Tunisia. The autocratic President Saied is considered an Israel hater and once insulted refugees as “migrant hordes.”
“The residents of Lampedusa are tired”
In Lampedusa, residents protested on Saturday against the plan to build a new tent camp to accommodate migrants. “I have two children at home,” said one protester. “For the past few years, I haven’t cared about this issue.” But now he believes he has to protect his children because he doesn’t know what will happen to Lampedusa in the future. “Lampedusa says stop!” shouted another. “We don’t want tent camps. This message is aimed at Europe and the Italian government. The residents of Lampedusa are tired.”
According to the Interior Ministry in Rome, around 126,000 migrants entered Rome illegally this year, almost twice as many as in the same period in 2022. The situation on Lampedusa is increasingly becoming a problem for the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which has been in power since October 2022. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has repeatedly complained about a lack of solidarity from other EU states. Meloni called on the EU to work together and “if necessary with a naval operation” to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean. According to an EU representative, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will accept Meloni’s invitation and visit the island on Sunday.
Germany has stopped the voluntary admission of migrants, but according to Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, is fundamentally ready to do so. It is “of course clear that we will fulfill our solidarity obligations,” said the SPD politician on ARD. On Wednesday, the federal government announced that it had suspended the voluntary European solidarity mechanism for accepting refugees with Italy because the country refused to take back refugees in Germany in accordance with the EU’s Dublin rules. According to the solidarity mechanism, Germany has agreed to help EU states that are particularly heavily burdened by incoming migrants. In general, people who were first registered in Italy, for example, must remain there.