A migrant from sub-Saharan Africa was stabbed to death and five others injured in an attack by a group of young Tunisians in east-central Tunisia, the spokesman for the Sfax court told AFP on Monday.
The attack was carried out from 22 to 23 May by seven Tunisians armed with knives and swords, against 19 migrants gathered in a house in El Haffara, a working-class district of Sfax, the prosecutor general and spokesman of the court, Faouzi Masmoudi, told AFP.
A 30-year-old Beninese man died in the attack and five other people from sub-Saharan African countries were hospitalized. "They are not seriously injured," according to the same source.
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Three Tunisians aged 17, 23 and 36 were arrested after a judicial investigation was opened, Masmoudi said.
Several NGOs denounced this crime which "occurs in a context of uninterrupted discourse of incitement to hatred and racism against migrants from sub-Saharan Africa," according to a statement released by the FTDES (Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights).
Videos show, according to preliminary results of the investigation, seven men attacking migrants, Masmoudi added, indicating that the investigation was continuing in particular to find out the motives of the attackers.
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Hate speech and intimidation against migrants (from sub-Saharan Africa) disseminated on social networks contribute to mobilization against the most vulnerable groups and fuel violent behavior against them," 23 NGOs said in a joint statement.
These organizations, including the Tunisian League for Human Rights and the World Organization Against Torture, have castigated "a climate of impunity and normalization of violence", for which they blamed Tunisian President Kais Saied.
Departures of African migrants from Tunisia intensified after a February 21 speech in Saied denying illegal immigration and presenting it as a demographic threat to his country.
A significant proportion of the 21,000 officially registered nationals of sub-Saharan African countries, most of them in an irregular situation, lost their jobs and homes overnight as a result of a campaign against illegal immigrants. Cases of aggression have been recorded.
Most migrants from sub-Saharan African countries come to Tunisia and then try to immigrate by sea to Europe, landing illegally on Italian shores.