Tunisian security forces recovered 11 bodies and continued searching for three missing migrants following the capsizing of a boat carrying 15 people off the country’s coast over the weekend. The sole survivor, a man who said he drifted for 48 hours before being picked up by a commercial vessel, was the only person rescued alive, according to a migrant rights group leader.
The vessel departed Thursday at dawn from the southeastern town of Ben Guerdane, near the Libyan border, with mostly young passengers, including seven members of one family and a man with his pregnant wife. Rescue operations involved the Tunisian coast guard, armed forces, civil protection, and two helicopters, the National Guard said Sunday.
The disaster prompted protests in Ben Guerdane late Saturday, where dozens of young people gathered to demand faster search efforts. Police dispersed the crowd with tear gas, local reports stated.
The Central Mediterranean route remains one of the deadliest migration paths to Europe, frequently used by people from Africa and the Middle East attempting to reach Italy. Last month, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and dozens of other organizations issued a joint statement criticizing a migration agreement between Tunisia and the European Union, alleging it has normalized severe abuses against migrants and asylum seekers in Tunisia. The groups urged the EU to suspend funding tied to migration and border control activities involving Tunisian security forces.
