Tunisian authorities have recovered the bodies of four migrants after a boat carrying 15 people capsized off the southeastern coast, with search operations continuing for those still missing, according to a migrant rights group.
The boat, which set off early on Thursday, 20 August, was carrying mostly young people, including seven members of the same family, as well as a man and his pregnant wife, the rights group's head, Mostafa Abdelkebir, told Reuters.
Tunisian National Guard spokesperson Houssem Eddine Jebabli said coastguard units, backed by an aircraft and naval units, were searching for those still missing.
According to Abdelkebir, four bodies had also been recovered, but it could not be confirmed whether they were from the same boat.
The central Mediterranean route from North Africa is one of the world's deadliest migration routes. Migrants from Africa and the Middle East continue to attempt the journey to Europe, often in overcrowded or unseaworthy boats.
Tunisia was once a major departure point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, but departures have fallen sharply over the past two years amid tighter maritime controls backed by European funding and border-monitoring equipment, particularly from Italy.
Tunisia's migration policies have drawn criticism from human rights organisations.
Last month, 46 rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, criticised the EU's 2023 migration agreement with Tunisia, saying it had helped "fuel and normalise serious human rights violations".
The groups accused Tunisian security forces of carrying out "reckless and violent interceptions at sea" and collective expulsions, and called on the EU to suspend funding for migration and border-control activities involving Tunisian security forces.
Tunisia has not commented on the statement but has repeatedly said it is bearing the brunt of a major migration influx.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 35,000 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014.
The Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights has previously estimated that about 10,000 Tunisians have disappeared at sea while attempting to reach Europe since 2011.
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European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Iran will not let a single particle of its enriched nuclear material leave the country, and any new U.S. attack would be met with strikes on distant American bases, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has said.
Four million workers across Spain joined a general strike on Wednesday over the country’s deepening housing crisis, unions said, bringing disruption to factories, ports, shops and public transport just weeks before a snap general election.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is stepping down amid reports linking him to a woman suspected by U.S. authorities of spying for China, throwing the future of the $4 trillion chipmaker into uncertainty.
Tajikistan is urging regional allies to step up support for its border with Afghanistan following a series of deadly armed incidents. Despite building more than 80 new border outposts, Dushanbe says it needs further assistance to secure its southern frontier.
Eight people have been killed and at least 17 injured after an apartment building collapsed into a neighbouring construction site in Brooklyn, New York, as rescuers continued searching the rubble for possible survivors.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for facilitating talks between Russia and Ukraine, but warned that any foreign troops deployed in Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets by Moscow.
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