9 Moroccan migrants were rescued off the Tunisian coast

The Tunisian authorities announced on Thursday, 23rd of November that they have rescued 22 migrants, including nine Moroccan nationals, off Zarzis (southeastern Tunisia). According to the Tunisian Ministry of Defense, the migrants are from Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan, Niger and Bangladesh.

These migrants had left the port of Boukamech, Libya, to return to the Libyan coast. They were later handed over to the Tunisian National Guards to initiate the necessary legal proceedings.

According to a report issued by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), 1652 people, including 1384 Tunisian nationals , were arrested for non-regulatory migration in the first eight months of 2017. In September, 1400 irregular migrants reached the Italian coast, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the Mediterranean, thus registering a remarkable increase in the number of irregular migrants who arrived in Italy almost three years ago.

The UN had reported that more than 5,000 illegal migrants died last year, trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, mostly from Libya.