Tunisia has announced the deportation of approximately 1,200 undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan African countries since the first day of Eid Al-Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). Moez Barakallah, Member of Parliament for Sfax and founding member of the “Al-Ahrar” bloc, revealed this information on Wednesday.
According to Tunisian channel “Nessma,” Barakallah stated that four daily flights are organized in the city of Sfax, each carrying 200 undocumented migrants since the start of the deportation operations. He also expressed hope that between 3,000 and 4,000 African migrants will be deported by the end of this week, subject to the availability of transportation means.
Barakallah added that the deportation process is coordinated between the Sfax region and the border regions with Libya and Algeria, which are responsible for the deportation operations.
Furthermore, on Wednesday, around 120 undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan African countries arrived at the train station in Sfax with the intention of traveling outside the region. Security measures in the area have been reinforced.
The city’s administrator stated that these migrants arrived at the station voluntarily and purchased train tickets to the capital, Tunis, in preparation for requesting deportation from their respective embassies in Tunisia.
Barakallah emphasized that this operation was not organized or supervised by any governmental structure or security authorities. The train station witnessed some disruptions due to the delay in the departure of the train, which also carried Tunisians and legal residents from sub-Saharan African countries in Tunisia.
According to the same source, the number of African migrants from sub-Saharan countries who have arrived in Tunisia is estimated to be around 21,000. They fall into three categories: the first category includes those with legal residency, the second category consists of political asylum seekers, and the third category encompasses irregular migrants, including those whose visas have expired.
