TUNIS: Migration activists are sounding the alarm this week about mass expulsions and arbitrary arrests in Tunisia, where authorities are seeing more migrants arrive for attempted Mediterranean crossings from the North African nation to Europe.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights on Monday accused the government of waging a campaign of repression against migrants at the expense of humanitarian concerns, “to satisfy European blackmail and ensure a steady stream of financial and logistical support.”
It said in a statement that witness accounts indicated the situation had become particularly dire around Tunisia’s borders with Libya and Algeria as well as around the country’s second most populous city, Sfax, a common stopover point for migrants aiming to cross the Mediterranean.
The nongovernmental organization said that migrants in Sfax, which is 117 miles (188 kilometers) from the Italian Island of Lampedusa, regularly experience arbitrary arrests and violence. Many have their property destroyed.
Such treatment hasn’t been limited to migrants who enter Tunisia without authorization and has extended to refugees, students, and workers, the group said.
It said it had received frequent reports of mass expulsions across the Algerian and Libyan borders. In Algeria, that has included migrants being deported into the desert regardless of weather conditions. In war-torn Libya, deportations often lead to migrants ending up in detention centers run by armed groups.
Tunisian officials have said small groups of migrants have been pushed back across the country’s desert borders but disputed reports of systemic abuse and expulsions.
The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights implored the government to end the deportations, provide migrants safe haven and update laws to allow those without papers to obtain some sort of legal status.
“Sovereignty is not achieved by intimidating vulnerable groups and resorting to outdated laws and discriminatory circulars, but rather by initiating national policies that guarantee dignity, rights and freedoms for all humans,” it said.
Tunisia faces increased scrutiny over how it deals with migrants. More than 97,000 people crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy in 2023, according to UNHCR. Tunisian migration groups estimate there are between 20,000 and 50,000 sub-Saharan migrants in the country.
Tunisian authorities receive financial assistance from Europe to help police borders. The country brokered a $1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) aid agreement in July that included a pledge of 105 million euros ($110 million) earmarked for migration.
Despite the aid, President Kais Saied has insisted that Tunisia will not become Europe’s “border guard” or accept migrants that European politicians, including ascendant right-wing leaders, don’t want.
Saied last year faced allegations of racism after calling the presence of sub-Saharan African migrants part of a “criminal plan to change the demographic makeup of the country.”
Tunisian group accuses authorities of mass expulsions of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa
Tunisian group accuses authorities of mass expulsions of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa
UN two-state conference co-chairs urge renewed push for Palestinian state amid regional escalation
- The statement said the latest escalation had “necessitated the suspension” of the high-level conference in New York
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and France, co-chairs of the United Nations Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Palestinian Question, joined with the chairs of the conference’s working groups in issuing a joint statement on Tuesday expressing “deep concern” over recent developments in the region, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The statement said the latest escalation had “necessitated the suspension” of the high-level conference, underscoring “the validity of warnings about the fragility of the situation” and the urgent need to “restore calm, respect international law, and strengthen diplomatic action.”
Despite the setback, the group reaffirmed their “full commitment to the conference’s objectives” and pledged to “ensure the continuity of its work and the achievement of its goals,” SPA added.
They added that “the co-chairs of the working groups will announce the date of the conference's roundtables soon,” with the aim of generating “clear and coordinated international commitments” to advance the implementation of a two-state solution.
“In these critical circumstances,” the statement continued, “we must redouble our efforts calling for respect for international law and the sovereignty of states, and to promote peace, freedom, and dignity for all peoples of the region.”
The group also reiterated its “unwavering support for all efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza” and called for a “just and sustainable settlement of the Palestinian issue,” affirming that regional stability and security hinge on a lasting peace.
What We Are Reading Today: Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian
In “Forest Euphoria,” Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian introduces readers to the queerness of all the life around us.
In snakes, snails, and, above all, fungi, she saw her own developing identities as a queer, neurodivergent person reflected back at her — and in them, too, she found a personal path to a life of science.
Nature, Kaishian shows us, is filled with the unusual, the overlooked, and the marginalized — and they have lessons for us all.
China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ‘eternal’ Central Asia ties
- Astana summit brings Xi together with Central Asian leaders
ASTANA, Kazakhstan: Xi Jinping celebrated China’s “eternal friendship” with Central Asia at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, as the Chinese leader blasted tariffs and sought to assert Beijing’s influence in a region historically dominated by Russia.
The summit in Astana brought together Xi with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Under Russia’s orbit until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five Central Asian states have courted interest from major powers including China, the European Union and the United States since becoming independent.
At the summit, the group signed a pact of “eternal” friendship as Xi called for closer ties with the resource-rich region.
“We should... strengthen cooperation with a more enterprising attitude and more practical measures,” said Xi in comments carried by state news agency Xinhua.
Central Asia is also seen as a key logistics hub, given its strategic location between China, Russia, the Middle East and Europe.
Speaking as Western leaders gathered on the other side of the world for the G7 in Canada, Xi refreshed his criticism of US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
“Tariff wars and trade wars have no winners,” Xinhua quoted him as saying.
While Central Asian leaders continue to view Russia as a strategic partner, ties with Moscow have loosened since the war in Ukraine.
China has also shown willingness to invest in massive infrastructure projects in the region, part of its Belt and Road initiative that uses such financing as a political and diplomatic lever.
In a meeting with Kyrgyzstan’s president, Xi called for moves to “advance high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and foster new drivers of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence.”
The five Central Asian nations are trying to take advantage of the growing interest in their region and are coordinating their foreign policies accordingly.
They regularly hold summits with China and Russia to present the region as a unified bloc and attract investment.
High-level “5+1” format talks have also been organized with the European Union, the United States, Turkiye and other Western countries.
“The countries of the region are balancing between different centers of power, wanting to protect themselves from excessive dependence on one partner,” Kyrgyz political scientist Nargiza Muratalieva told AFP.
Russia says China’s growing influence in the region does not pose a threat.
“There is no reason for such fears. China is our privileged strategic partner, and the countries of Central Asia, naturally, are our natural historical partners,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.
But China has now established itself as Central Asia’s leading trading partner, far outstripping the EU and Russia.
Construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway and the China-Tajikistan highway, which runs through the Pamir Mountains to Afghanistan, are among its planned investments.
New border crossings and “dry ports” have already been built to process trade, such as Khorgos in Kazakhstan, one of the largest logistics hubs in the world.
“Neither Russia nor Western institutions are capable of allocating financial resources for infrastructure so quickly and on such a large scale, sometimes bypassing transparent procedures,” said Muratalieva.
Kazakhstan said last week that Russia would lead the construction of its first nuclear power plant but that it wanted China to build the second.
“Central Asia is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, uranium, gold and other minerals that the rapidly developing Chinese economy needs,” Muratalieva said.
“Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of these resources, bypassing unstable sea routes, is an important goal of Beijing,” the analyst added.
China also positions itself as a supporter of the predominantly authoritarian Central Asian leaderships.
At the last Central Asia-China summit, Xi called for “resisting external interference” that might provoke “color revolutions” that could overthrow the current leaders in the region.
“Beijing sees the stability of the Central Asian states as a guarantee of the security of its western borders,” Muratalieva said.
Central Asia border’s China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of having detained more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims, part of a campaign the UN has said could constitute crimes against humanity.
What Israel’s bombing of Iran’s state broadcaster says about its targeting of journalists
- Israeli forces struck Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB on Monday, killing two staff and injuring others during a live broadcast
- Press freedom advocates say the Tehran strike echoes Israel’s pattern of targeting media in Gaza and the West Bank
LONDON: In what press freedom groups say is only the latest in a string of attacks on media workers, the Israeli military on Monday struck the headquarters of the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network in Tehran.
The attack, which interrupted a live broadcast, killed at least two members of staff — news editor Nima Rajabpour and secretariat worker Masoumeh Azimi — and injured several others, according to state-affiliated media.
In footage widely shared online, Sahar Emami, an anchor for the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, was seen fleeing the studio as the screen behind her filled with smoke. Moments earlier, she had told viewers: “You hear the sound of the aggressor attacking the truth.”
The strike destroyed the building — known as the Glass Building — which burned through the night. Israel immediately claimed responsibility.
Defense Minister Israel Katz had issued a warning less than an hour earlier, calling IRIB a “propaganda and incitement megaphone,” urging up to 330,000 nearby residents to evacuate.
The attack drew swift condemnation from Iranian officials. Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, called it “a wicked act of war crime,” urging the international community to demand justice from Israel for its attack on the media.
NUMBER
70%
Israel is responsible for the majority of journalist killings globally in 2024, the highest number by a single country in one year since the Committee to Protect Journalists began documenting this data in 1992.
Source: CPJ
“The world is watching,” Baqaei wrote on X. “Israeli regime is the biggest enemy of truth and is the No#1 killer of journalists and media people.”
Over the past week, the long-running shadow war between Israel and Iran has escalated dramatically. On Friday, Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities, including the Natanz enrichment site.
With the stated aim of preventing Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, the strikes caused significant damage to the country’s nuclear infrastructure and military command structure, with multiple high-ranking commanders killed.
Iran has retaliated with missile barrages targeting Israeli cities and military bases. Civilian casualties have mounted on both sides, and major cities like Tehran and Tel Aviv have experienced widespread panic and disruption.
The Israeli attack on IRIB shows media workers are not exempt from the violence.
Sara Qudah, regional director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said she was “appalled by Israel’s attack on Iran’s state television channel,” noting that the lack of international censure “has emboldened it to target media elsewhere in the region.”
Loreley Hahn Herrera, lecturer in global media and digital cultures at SOAS University of London, echoed this view.
“The exceptional status through which Western powers have historically shielded Israel has allowed it to systematically commit international law and human rights violations without ever being held accountable or suffer any legal, financial, military or diplomatic repercussions,” she told Arab News.
“This has indeed emboldened Israel to attack not only Palestine and Iran. In the last months, Israel has broken the ceasefire in Lebanon, bombed Yemen, and Syria as well.”
Israel’s treatment of media workers in combat zones has long been documented by press freedom organizations. Despite repeated calls for accountability, Israel has consistently evaded consequences.
“Israel has a sophisticated political communication strategy which rests on its hasbara (propaganda) that has worked hand in hand with its material strategies to control the public spaces in the West through repeating narratives about victimhood and its right to defend itself,” Dina Matar, professor of political communication and Arab media at SOAS, told Arab News.
Monday’s strike in Tehran closely mirrors Israel’s record in Gaza and the West Bank since Oct. 7, 2023. Under the banner of “eliminating terrorists,” Israel has killed at least 183 journalists in Palestine and Lebanon, according to CPJ. Others put the figure closer to 220.
A separate report published in April by the Costs of War project at Brown University described the Gaza conflict as “the worst ever for journalists.”
Titled “News Graveyards: How Dangers to War Reporters Endanger the World,” the study concluded that more journalists have been killed in Gaza than in all major US wars combined.
The report was swiftly attacked by Israeli nationalists, who dismissed it as “garbage” and factually flawed for not linking the journalists killed to militant activity.
“There is no policy of targeting journalists,” a senior Israeli officer said last year, attributing the deaths to the scale and intensity of the bombardment.
But Herrera disagrees.
“Israel is not only targeting journalists, it is targeting the families of the journalists as a strategy to deter their coverage and punish them for reporting the war crimes Israel commits on a daily basis in occupied Palestine,” she said.
Herrera cited several examples where Israel appeared to punish journalists by targeting their families. One case was that of Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, who was broadcasting live when he learned that his wife, daughter, son, and grandchild had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023.
A more recent case involved photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, who was killed alongside several family members. Both attacks, Israel claimed, were aimed at Hamas operatives, but critics say they reflect a broader strategy of silencing coverage through collective punishment.
Yet accusations of Israel’s targeting of journalists precede the last 20 months.
“Israel has a long and documented history of targeting Palestinian journalists,” said Matar, pointing to the 1972 assassination of writer Ghassan Kanafani in Beirut.
A prominent Palestinian author and militant, Kanafani was considered to be a leading novelist of his generation and one of the Arab world’s leading Palestinian writers.
He was killed along with his 17-year-old niece, Lamees, by an explosive device planted in his car by Mossad, in one of the first known extrajudicial killings for which the Israeli spy agency ever claimed responsibility.
More recently, in May 2022, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by an Israeli soldier during a raid in Jenin, despite wearing a press vest. Initial Israeli claims blaming Palestinian fire were quickly disproven by independent investigations and the UN.
A 2025 documentary identified the suspected shooter, but no one has been held accountable.
Foreign media workers have also been killed. In 2014, Italian journalist Simone Camilli and his Palestinian colleague Ali Shehda Abu Afash died when an unexploded Israeli bomb detonated while they were reporting in Gaza.
In 2003, Welsh documentarian James Miller was fatally shot by Israeli forces while filming in Rafah.
A year earlier, Italian photojournalist Raffaele Ciriello — on assignment for Corriere della Sera — was shot dead by Israeli gunfire in Ramallah during the Second Intifada, becoming the first foreign journalist killed in that conflict.
No one has been held accountable in any of these cases.
“The reason behind Israel’s targeting and killing of journalists is to send a clear message and instill fear of reporting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the West Bank, as it can carry the consequence of death and/or injury,” said Herrera, who noted Israel’s refusal to allow international media into Gaza as part of a wider strategy to monopolize the narrative.
“This is an attempt to minimize or flat out stop any negative coverage of Israeli actions in Gaza and the rest of the occupied territories,” she said. “Israel does not want international media, and particularly Western media, to cover their genocide campaign and their ongoing and systematic war crimes … and push further the delegitimization of Israel.”
While Israel has so far refused to grant broader media access to the enclave, Western news organizations and human rights groups have attempted to push back against the Israeli narrative, arguing that affiliation with outlets like Al-Aqsa TV or Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB does not justify extrajudicial killings.
“News outlets, even propagandist ones, are not legitimate military targets,” the Freedom of the Press Foundation said in a statement on Monday. “Bombing a studio during a live broadcast will not impede Iran’s nuclear program.”
As the conflict with Iran escalates, incidents like Monday’s bombing are likely to face growing scrutiny. For many observers, Israel’s actions are becoming increasingly indefensible, and international tolerance for such attacks may be nearing its limit.
“The international community has played an important role in allowing Israel to act in this manner,” said Herrera.
“Since its establishment in 1948, and even before that though the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the West has protected Israel in the international relations arena.
“The best example of this is the use of the US veto in the UN Security Council or the ever-present declarations that Israel ‘has a right to defend itself’ by European and American political leadership.
“Until the international community effectively implements sanctions, stops funding and arming Israel, we will only continue to witness Israel’s brazen violations of international and human rights law.
“We cannot expect Israel to self-regulate because Israel is not a democracy. Its political and legal systems are subservient to the Zionist ideology of colonization and racial supremacy, and will act to satisfy these aims.”
Belgium seeks to try former diplomatic official over 1961 killing of Congo leader
- If he goes on trial, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face justice in the more than six decades since Lumumba was murdered
BRUSSELS: Belgian prosecutors said Tuesday that they were seeking to put a 92-year-old former diplomat on trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.
Etienne Davignon is the only one still alive among 10 Belgians who were accused of complicity in the murder of the independence icon in a 2011 lawsuit filed by Lumumba’s children.
If he goes on trial, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face justice in the more than six decades since Lumumba was murdered.
A fiery critic of Belgium’s colonial rule, Lumumba became his country’s first prime minister after it gained independence in 1960.
But he fell out with the former colonial power and with the US and was ousted in a coup a few months after taking office.
He was executed on Jan. 17, 1961, aged just 35, in the southern region of Katanga, with the support of Belgian mercenaries.
His body was dissolved in acid and never recovered.
Davignon, who went on to be a vice president of the European Commission in the 1980s, was a trainee diplomat at the time of the assassination.
He is accused of involvement in the “unlawful detention and transfer” of Lumumba at the time he was taken prisoner and his “humiliating and degrading treatment,” the prosecutor’s office said.
But prosecutors added that a charge of intent to kill should be dropped.
It is now up to a magistrate to decide if the trial should proceed, following a hearing on the case set for January 2026.
“We’re moving in the right direction. What we’re seeking is, first and foremost, the truth,” Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of the former Congolese premier, told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
The prosecutor’s decision is the latest step in Belgium’s decades-long reckoning with the role it played in Lumumba’s killing.
In 2022, Belgium returned a tooth — the last remains of Lumumba — to his family in a bid to turn a page on the grim chapter of its colonial past.
The tooth was seized by Belgian authorities in 2016 from the daughter of a policeman, Gerard Soete.
A Belgian parliamentary commission of enquiry concluded in 2001 that Belgium had “moral responsibility” for the assassination, and the government presented the country’s “apologies” a year later.
