Irregular migration: Number of Tunisians arriving on Italian coasts down 18.52% in April 2024

Tunis: The number of Tunisians arriving on the Italian coast through irregular migration reached 853 in April, a decrease of 18.52 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Tunisian Social Observatory. The Observatory, which is affiliated to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), attributed the decrease in irregular migratory flows to "the unstable weather conditions on the Tunisian coasts during the month of April and the intensive security operations on land and at sea". During the same period, the Tunisian authorities intercepted 209 crossings, mostly by sea (71.21%), and prevented 8,249 irregular migrants from reaching the Italian coast from Tunisia, 90% of them non-Tunisian nationals, it said. The number of irregular migrants intercepted since the beginning of the year has risen to 21,200, while the number of victims and missing persons has reached 244, most of them non-Tunisian. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse