70,000 migrants intercepted by Tunisia in 2023: officialA Libyan border guard gives water to a migrant during a rescue operation near the border with Tunisia. TUNIS - Close to 70,000 migrants were intercepted trying to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy this year, more than double the 2022 figure, the Tunisian National Guard told AFP on Saturday. The number intercepted by Tunisian authorities was 69,963 for the first 11 months of 2023, compared to 31,297 in the same period last year, according to data from the National Guard. Tunisia has been accused by the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs of "expelling" migrants to Libya and Algeria, which Tunisian authorities deny. Most of the intercepted migrants were caught on Tunisia's eastern coastline close to Sfax, which is only around 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa.
