A boat carrying 42 Sudanese migrants sank off the coast of Tunisia, leaving at least 13 dead and 27 missing according to a statement by a Tunisia official on Thursday.
Only two survivors have been rescued so far, while search operations are underway to locate those still missing.
It is the latest disaster to hit migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to Europe.
The ill-fated journey began in Jebiniana, near the city of Sfax. The migrants, all Sudanese, faced perilous conditions as they attempted to reach Europe, driven by the civil war that has engulfed Sudan for the past 10 months, displacing approximately nine million people.
The International Organization for Migration reported a 60% increase in migrant deaths in the central Mediterranean in 2023 compared to the previous year, totaling over 2,270 casualties.
To address the escalating crisis, the European Union (EU) signed a $118 million deal with Tunisia in the previous year.
The agreement aims to combat irregular migration by curbing smuggling, reinforcing borders, and facilitating the return of migrants.
Farid Ben Jha, the judicial spokesperson in Monastir, emphasized that an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of the incident.
He suggested that the migrants may have been “exploited in a human trafficking case or in the formation of a criminal group to reach Europe illegally.”
Tunisia has become the primary departure point in North Africa, surpassing Libya, for individuals fleeing poverty and conflict across Africa and the Middle East.
The nation has witnessed a surge in migration, marked by frequent catastrophes involving sinking boats carrying migrants from sub-Saharan Africa hoping to reach Italy.
In 2023, the Tunisian coast guard retrieved nearly 1,000 bodies of migrants drowned off its coast, making it the deadliest year on record.
BBC
