From 18 to 27 April 2023, the Tunisian Coast Guard found 210 bodies of migrants, victims of several shipwrecks off the coast of Sfax, Kerkennah and Mahdia.
This is the tragic balance of the spokesman of the National Guard of Tunis released in a note.
In coordination with the regional authorities, according to preliminary screening and pending DNA analysis, the bodies - he continues - the victims would all originate from various countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The central morgue of Sfax, a Tunisian city from which many migrants have left since the beginning of the year, is overflowing with a large number of corpses, victims of shipwrecks.
"On Tuesday we counted more than 200 bodies, well beyond the capacity of the Habib Bourguiba hospital in Sfax, which also creates a health problem," Faouzi Masmoudi, spokesman for the court in Sfax, the country's second city with almost one million inhabitants.
"We don't know who they are or from which shipwreck they come from and the number is growing", he added, specifying that "there are funerals almost every day".
At least 30 people were buried on April 20 alone.
But "during the Muslim holiday of Eid on April 21-23, many bodies were fished out".
The deceased are buried after having their DNA taken and each body assigned a number to facilitate their possible identification by relatives, Masmoudi explained, referring to significant "difficulties" in finding a burial place for these bodies, while noting " concerted efforts to bury them in the municipal cemeteries of Sfax".
"Since the beginning of the year we have counted on April 24, more than 220 dead and missing, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa," said
Romdhane Ben Amor
of the NGO Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES ), specialized in migration.
According to the Ftdes, "over 78% of departures took place from the coasts of Sfax and Mahdia".
Ben Amor recalled that the local authorities had undertaken last year "to create a special cemetery for migrants, on the basis that they are not Muslims", but that it is not yet ready.
The departure of African migrants from Tunisia has intensified after a tough speech on February 21 by President Kais Saied who condemned illegal immigration as a demographic threat to his country.
Tunisia, some of whose coasts are less than 150 km from Italy, is going through a serious political and economic crisis which is also driving many Tunisians to attempt to reach Europe clandestinely by sea at the risk of their lives.
