Most of the migrants rescued at the end of last week were reported to be Tunisian, stated the English-language online news site The New Arab, quoting local media. A boat carrying migrants is reported to have set sail from Teboulba, about 180 kilometers south of the capital Tunis.

It is not unusual for bodies to wash up on Tunisian coasts. In late October, at least 15 bodies, believed to be migrants were recovered in eastern Tunisia, around Monastir. This year, reports the New Arab, around 341 bodies have been recovered off the Tunisian coast, according to Tunisia’s Interior Ministry.

According to the Tunisian human rights organization FTDES, more than 1,300 people have died or disappeared after attempting to cross the Mediterranean towards Italy, after departing Tunisia.

Missing migrants

The UN Migration Agency's Missing Migrants Project estimates that at least 1,504 people have died on the Central Mediterranean route since the beginning of the year, with the last recorded incident being on November 30.

Since no one records the number of boats that attempt to put to sea, or indeed how many people might be on board, the actual number of missing and dead could be much higher.

The area of Tunisia where the latest two bodies were discovered is around 100 kilometers from the island of Lampedusa, according to French media reports. Those who survived the sinking said their boat got into trouble off the coast of Mahdia, not long after setting off from Teboulba.

In October, when the Tunisian authorities discovered 15 bodies along the coast, officials in the National Guard said that identification was made more difficult because of the decomposition state of the bodies, reported the news agency Reuters.

Over the past year, Tunisia has overtaken Libya as the main jumping-off point for migrants hoping to reach Europe. However, various deals between the EU, often spearheaded by Italy, and Tunisia, have meant that Tunisia’s national guard, also attempted to intercept as many boats as they can before they are able to cross.

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Allegations of violence and human rights abuses

Reports from migrants, as well as international humanitarian organizations and various journalists, testify to increasing violence towards mostly sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia.

Allegations of deportations to desert areas, detention, violence, torture and rape are becoming more and more common. Allegations that the Tunisian authorities deny. In July this year, the UN discovered a mass grave of migrants along the Libya-Tunisia border.

A recent investigation into the million-euro deal between the EU and Tunisia to help support Tunisia’s migration management hit the headlines last week after the EU Ombudsman accused the EU of a lack of transparency. A charge the EU denies.

According to the EU Observer website, the EU Ombudsman had been seeking insights and documents into how the EU prepared for a June 2023 meeting in the lead-up to the deal it signed with Tunisia for migration management, trade, investment and development.

Initially, reports the EU Observer, the Commission claimed it had no documents. Finally, after a year, it admitted it had 13 documents, but none of them shed much light on that deal.

An email between an unnamed EU spokesperson and the EU Observer stated that "the commission always attaches great importance to transparency and will continue to do so."

The EU has also "brushed off" reports, according to the EU Observer, that it "funds Tunisian forces accused of mass rape."

With AFP and Reuters