Human Rights Watch called on Tunisia on Friday to halt what it described as “collective expulsions” of Black African migrants, who are being relocated to a desert area near the Libyan border.
Over the past week, hundreds of migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa have been forced out of the port city of Sfax and left stranded in extremely poor conditions in southern Tunisia.
These expulsions have occurred amidst a backdrop of violence following the funeral of a 41-year-old Tunisian man who was fatally stabbed in Sfax during a clash between Tunisians and migrants.
Sfax, the second-largest city in the North African country, serves as a departure point for many migrants aiming to reach Europe via sea, often with the Italian island of Lampedusa located approximately 130 kilometers (80 miles) away.
“Tunisian security forces have collectively expelled several hundred Black African migrants and asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women, since July 2, to a remote, militarised buffer zone at the Tunisia-Libya border,” HRW said.
“Many reported violence by authorities during arrest or expulsion,” the New York-based watchdog said in a statement.
HRW’s Lauren Seibert urged Tunisia’s government to “halt collective expulsions and urgently enable humanitarian access to the African migrants and asylum seekers already expelled to a dangerous area”.
The group said migrants it interviewed alleged “several people died or were killed at the border area” between Sunday and Wednesday, “some shot, and others beaten” by Tunisian security forces.
“They also said that Libyan men carrying machetes or other weapons had robbed some people and raped several women,” HRW reported, adding it was unable to independently confirm the accounts.
HRW called on the government in Tunis to “investigate and hold to account security forces implicated in abuses”.”African migrants and asylum seekers, including children, are desperate to get out of the dangerous border zone and find food, medical care, and safety,” Seibert said. “There is no time to waste.”
Tunisia has seen a rise in racially motivated attacks after President Kais Saied in February accused “hordes” of undocumented migrants of bringing violence and alleging a “criminal plot” to change the country’s demographic make-up.