TUNIS: Tunisia’s coastguard said on Monday it had rescued 455 migrants the night before during operations to combat irregular migration off the country’s coasts.

“National guard units in the north, centre, east and south thwarted 37 attempts to cross” Tunisia’s maritime borders, the National Guard said in a statement.

During the operations, “455 people were rescued, including 289 of various (sub-Saharan) African nationalities, the rest being Tunisians”, spokesman Houcem Eddine Jebabli said. Tunisia is a key departure point for migrants hoping to reach Europe — usually Italy — and sea crossing attempts tend to increase during spring and summer.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2022