NGO: Tunisia dumps dozens of migrants in desert near Algerian border

Tunisian authorities have abandoned 40 migrants and asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa, including children and pregnant women, near Tunisia’s border with Algeria, rights groups told AFP. The migrants were expelled from the coastal city of Sfax, Tunisia’s main departure point for Europe, and transported to the remote Gafsa governorate in the country’s southwest, bordering Algeria. Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesperson for the FTDES rights group, said his organization had lost contact with the group, who are now stranded without food or water in an isolated area. 

Tunisia has become a key departure point for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. Expulsions have surged since President Kais Saied’s 2022 speech warning of a demographic threat from illegal migration. Rights groups estimate that between June and September 2023, over 5,500 migrants were expelled toward Libya and more than 3,000 toward Algeria, with many stranded in harsh conditions.