The Tunisian Maritime National Guard thwarted 19 illegal emigration attempts on the night of Saturday 19 to Sunday 20 September alone, intercepting 246 migrants, mostly Tunisians, the Tunisian Interior Ministry said on Monday.
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The boats detected by the coastguard were carrying 217 Tunisians and 29 foreigners, who had taken to Europe from several points on the Tunisian coast, the ministry said in a brief statement.
Among these people, three are wanted and prosecuted by the justice system, added the ministry without giving further details.
Already Saturday, the coast guard had rescued 37 Algerian migrants off Bizerte (north) after a breakdown of their makeshift boats from the Algerian coast.
At the risk of their lives, thousands of North Africans regularly attempt to cross the Mediterranean on clandestine boats, trying to reach Europe where they hope to find work and prospects.
After a peak in departures from Tunisia in 2011, followed by a sharp drop, the number of departures has increased again since 2017 as Tunisia faces rising unemployment and deep inequalities persist, ten years after the revolution.
Since the beginning of the year and until mid-September, 8,581 people have been intercepted while trying to reach Europe by sea from the Tunisian coast, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior.
Of these, 2,104 were foreigners.
In the first eight months of 2020, more than 8,000 Tunisians reached Italy, according to the UN.
During an August visit to Tunis, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio warned that there would be no more room for migrants who arrived illegally in Italy, after announcing repatriation operations for Tunisians in from August 10.
