29 MIGRANTS FOUND DEAD ALONG COAST OF TUNISIA

At least 29 African migrants and asylum seekers were found dead and 11 others rescued Sunday when three separate boats trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Italy capsized along the Tunisian coast, according to the Tunisian Coast Guard.

Tunisia has seen the numbers of migrants, mainly Africans, fleeing its shores for Italy skyrocket in recent months as the North African country grapples with economic crises and its government, under Tunisian President Kais Saied, carries out a crackdown on illegal immigration.

“The situation right now is very tragic, especially this week,” said Romdhane Ben Amor, an official at the Forum for Social and Economic Rights, which is based in the Tunisian capital. He said the true count of those dead and missing was likely higher as “officials are not being transparent enough.”

The Tunisian Coast Guard said Sunday that it had recovered eight bodies and rescued 11 other Africans trying to cross the Mediterranean. In another incident, officials recovered 19 bodies about 36 miles off the Tunisian coast after a fishing boat sank. The Coast Guard said it recovered two other bodies from a capsized fishing boat near the southern coastal city of Sfax.

Separately from Sunday’s incidents, five boats carrying migrants and asylum seekers headed to Italy sank off the coast of Sfax in recent days, leaving at least nine dead and 67 missing, according to Reuters, citing Tunisian officials. Between Wednesday and Friday, the Tunisian Coast Guard said it stopped 79 illegal maritime crossings and arrested nearly 3,000 migrants, almost all from African countries.