TUNIS: More migrants in Tunisia opted to be sent back to their home countries in recent months according to the International Migration Organization, amid rising anti-migrant sentiment and European pressure to curb migration.
“Between January 1 and June 25, 2024, IOM facilitated the voluntary return of around 3,500 people from Tunisia to their country of origin,” a spokesperson for the organization told AFP on Wednesday.
The IOM’s “voluntary humanitarian return program,” which provides free return flights to migrants and help reintegrating into their home countries, saw a 200 percent increase in sign-ups compared to the same period in 2023.
The migrants, who ventured to Tunisia in the hopes of crossing to Europe, are primarily returning to The Gambia, Burkina Faso and Guinea.
Rights groups have criticized the program, saying the returns are not truly voluntary if migrants are being pressured into leaving.
Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), said the returns take place as a result of “anti-migrant policy, which sees them as a threat.”
People are made precarious, he said, “by preventing them from working, renting apartments or using public transport.”
Anti-migrant violence broke out last year after President Kais Saied gave a speech saying “hordes of illegal migrants” posed a demographic threat to Tunisia.
Hundreds of sub-Saharan Africans were subsequently kicked out of their jobs and homes.
Their living conditions worsened as they were chased out of cities such as Sfax and were forced to create makeshift settlements in less populated areas, where they waited to cross the Mediterranean.
Tunisia and the EU last summer reached a “strategic partnership” through which Tunis received financial aid worth 105 million euros ($112 million) in return for efforts to deter migrant departures.
Ben Amor said the hike in “voluntary” repatriations is a direct result of the EU’s policy of countering irregular migration.
“The EU has given all the financial, logistical and technical means” to Tunisia to implement the policy, he said.
Tunisia and neighboring Libya are major departure points for migrants attempting perilous sea crossings to Europe.
According to the Tunisian Interior Ministry, around 23,000 irregular migrants are currently present in the country.
More than 1,300 people died or disappeared last year in shipwrecks off the North African country, according to FTDES.
Migrant repatriations in Tunisia surging in 2024: IOM
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Migrant repatriations in Tunisia surging in 2024: IOM
- “Between January 1 and June 25, 2024, IOM facilitated the voluntary return of around 3,500 people from Tunisia to their country of origin,” an IMO spokesperson said
- The IOM’s “voluntary humanitarian return program” saw a 200 percent increase in sign-ups compared to the same period in 2023
Palestinian health ministry says 4 killed in Israeli West Bank strike
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health ministry said Thursday that an Israeli air strike on a car killed four Palestinians and wounded three near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarem.
The ministry announced that the Palestinians were killed “as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp,” which the Israeli army did not immediately confirm to AFP.
Turkiye, Iran leaders at Muslim summit in Cairo
- Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza
CAIRO: The leaders of Turkiye and Iran were in Egypt on Thursday for a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries, meeting for the first time since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar Assad.
Turkiye historically backed the opposition to Assad, while Iran supported his rule.
The gathering of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, also known as the Developing-8, was being held against a backdrop of regional turmoil including the conflict in Gaza, a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and unrest in Syria.
In a speech to the summit, Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for unity and reconciliation in Syria, urging “the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.”
He also voiced hope for “the establishment of a Syria free of terrorism,” where “all religious sects and ethnic groups live side by side in peace.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged action to address the crises in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, saying that it is a “religious, legal and human duty to prevent further harm” to those suffering in these conflict zones.
Pezeshkian, who arrived in Cairo on Wednesday, is the first Iranian president to visit Egypt since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who visited in 2013.
Relations between Egypt and Iran have been strained for decades, but diplomatic contacts have intensified since Cairo became a mediator in the war in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi visited Egypt in October, while his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty traveled to Tehran in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration.
Ahead of the summit, the Iranian top diplomat said he hoped it would “send a strong message to the world that the Israeli aggressions and violations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” would end “immediately.”
Erdogan was in Egypt earlier this year, and discussed with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi economic cooperation as well as regional conflicts.
Established in 1997, the D-8 aims to foster cooperation among member states, spanning regions from Southeast Asia to Africa.
The organization includes Egypt, Turkiye, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia as member states.
Iraq begins repatriating Syrian soldiers amid border security assurances
DUBAI: Iraq has begun the process of returning Syrian soldiers to their home country, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Qais Al-Muhammadawi, deputy commander of joint operations, emphasized the robust security measures in place along Iraq’s borders with Syria.
“Our borders are fortified and completely secure,” he said, declaring that no unauthorized crossings would be permitted.
Muhammadawi said that all border crossings with Syria are under tight control, stating: “We will not allow a terrorist to enter our territory.”
Turkiye won’t halt Syria military activity until Kurd fighters ‘disarm’
ISTANBUL: Turkiye will push ahead with its military preparations until Kurdish fighters “disarm,” a defense ministry source said Thursday as the nation faces an ongoing threat along its border with northern Syria.
“Until the PKK/YPG terrorist organization disarms and its foreign fighters leave Syria, our preparations and measures will continue within the scope of the fight against terrorism,” the source said.
Hamas says Israeli strikes in Yemen ‘dangerous development’
GAZA: Palestinian militant group Hamas said Thursday that Israel’s strikes in Yemen after the Houthi rebels fired a missile at the country were a “dangerous development.”
“We regard this escalation as a dangerous development and an extension of the aggression against our Palestinian people, Syria and the Arab region,” Hamas said in a statement as Israel struck ports and energy infrastructure in Yemen after intercepting a missile attack by the Houthis.
