So many migrants risking the dangerous sea crossing from Tunisia to Europe have drowned that morgues and hospitals in the key launchpad city of Sfax are full, officials said Friday. "There is a problem with large numbers of corpses arriving on the shore. Tunisia, whose coastline is less than 150 kilometres (90 miles) from the Italian island of Lampedusa, has long been a favoured stepping stone for migrants attempting the perilous sea journey from North Africa to Europe. More than three-quarters of migrants leaving Tunisia do so from the coast between Sfax and Mahdia, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) north, he added. The number of departures of migrants has intensified after President Kais Saied made a fiery speech on February 21 claiming that illegal immigration was a demographic threat to Tunisia.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 28, 2023 15:43 UTC