At least 23 African migrants went missing and four died on Saturday after two of their boats capsized while trying to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy, a judicial official said.
The coast guard rescued another 53 people from the southern city of Sfax, two of them in critical condition, Sfax court judge Fouzi Masmoudi said.
Four bodies have been recovered, he said.
In recent weeks, dozens of people have gone missing and died in repeated drowning accidents off the Tunisian coast.
Tunisia has become the main point of departure from Libya for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in the hope of a better life in Europe. Crackdowns on human trafficking in Libya have made Tunisia a more accessible option.
More than 14,000 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were intercepted or rescued trying to cross to Europe in the first three months of the year, the National Guard said Friday, five times the number recorded during the same period last year.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday that Europe risks seeing a huge wave of migrants arriving on its shores from North Africa unless economic stability is maintained in Tunisia.
Meloni called on the IMF and other countries to quickly help Tunisia avoid collapse.
Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar said last week that the country needed money and equipment to better protect its borders. Tunisia had received equipment from Italy in the past years, but Ammar said it was outdated and insufficient.
Source: Reuters
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