An international human rights organization reported on Monday the evacuation of hundreds of undocumented migrants stranded in areas near the Tunisian-Libyan border under difficult humanitarian conditions, fleeing from violence. The organization expressed concerns that dozens of others, who were forced to move towards the Algerian border, remain at risk.
Following clashes that resulted in the death of a Tunisian citizen, dozens of migrants were expelled from Sfax last week and relocated to border areas with Libya and Algeria.
Salma Chellali, the director of Human Rights Watch's Tunisia office, told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "All migrants, numbering between 500 and 700 individuals, who were at the Libyan border, have been moved to another location."
She added, "However, many others who were expelled towards the Algerian border are in danger if they are not immediately rescued." The organization estimates that the number of these migrants ranges from 150 to 200.
Earlier on Monday, media reports and human rights groups stated that migrants in the demilitarized zone between Tunisia and Libya near Ras Jedir had been transferred to other Tunisian cities, particularly Medenine, Tataouine, and Gabes in the south.
Approximately ten others were transferred to a hospital in Ben Guerdane, where an unspecified number of people were reported to have gathered outside an internal high school, according to a journalist from Agence France-Presse.
Hate speech towards migrants has been increasing since Tunisian President Kais Saied condemned irregular migration in February of last year, considering it a demographic threat to the country.
A crackdown on migrants occurred in Sfax, which serves as a departure point for many Africans hoping to reach Europe, after the funeral of a 41-year-old Tunisian man who was fatally stabbed on July 3 during a clash between local residents and migrants.
"Persecution"
The Tunisian organization "BAYTI" stated that "urgent coordination" with human rights defenders, non-governmental organizations, and governmental institutions is necessary to "coordinate efforts and pool resources" to care for migrants from sub-Saharan African countries.
The organization, which particularly assists women who are victims of violence, stated, "For days now, we have witnessed in the Sfax area migrants who have been left alone and are living under threat, facing a real persecution that has led to their expulsion and deportation to the outskirts of the desert."
On the other hand, a source from the Malian embassy told Agence France-Presse that the mission "received ten Malians who fled Sfax in recent days, one of whom suffered a broken arm while trying to escape from a group of locals."
A Tunisian Red Crescent mission provided some water and food to migrants in the past few days and provided assistance to the wounded, according to testimonies from migrants.
For those being sent closer to the Algerian border, the situation is becoming more difficult, according to accounts collected by Agence France-Presse.
A Guinean migrant said in a phone call with AFP, "Please help us, if you can send the Red Cross here, help us, otherwise, we will die. There is nothing here, no food, no water."
He confirmed that there were about thirty migrants left to their fate in a desert area near the Algerian border close to the "Douar El Ma" region.
"Forced Expulsion"
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) condemned on Monday "violent arrests and forced expulsions of hundreds of black African migrants," affirming that some of them are "registered with the UN Refugee Agency or have legal status in Tunisia."
The Tunisian branch of the "World Organization Against Torture" announced on Monday that it called on the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture to condemn the case of an "African migrant from sub-Saharan Africa who was deported to the Tunisian-Libyan border on July 2" after being arrested without cause and "beaten with an iron rod in security centers" in Ben Guerdane (eastern Tunisia).
Hate speech towards migrants has been spreading illegally and increasingly since Tunisian President Kais Saied condemned irregular migration in February of last year, considering it a demographic threat to the country.
In response, President Saied stated in a press release on Monday that Tunisia has "taught the world a lesson in caring for and supporting these victims in recent days and will never accept being a victim." He also emphasized that Tunisia will confront all attempts to settle migrants, except for those who have legal status in accordance with its national legislation.
AFP