AL ASSAH: Libyan border guards have rescued dozens of migrants who have been left in the desert by Tunisian authorities without water and food, and their numbers are “rising”, an officer said on Sunday.

Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert and hostile areas bordering Libya and Algeria after racial unrest in early July in Sfax, Tun­isia’s second-largest city.

A team at the Libyan-Tunisian border saw migrants who were visibly exhausted and dehydrated, sitting or lying on the sand and using shrubs to try and shield themselves from the scorching summer heat that topped 40 degrees Celsius. The group were in an uninhabited area close to Al-Assah, a town near the Tunisia-Libya border, nearly 150 kilometres west of Tripoli.

“The number of migra­nts keep rising every day,” said Mohamad Abou Snen­ah of the border patrol unit, telling AFP they have rescued “50 to 70 migrants”.

“We offer them medical attention, first aid, considering the journey they have made through the desert.” At a reception centre, correspondents saw a group of women and children, including toddlers, lying on mattresses and eating yogurt.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2023