Nine Sub-Saharan migrants found dead from cold, thirst near Tunisian-Algerian borders – NGO

The bodies of nine migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were discovered recently in Tunisia on the Algerian border, judicial sources said this Wednesday, quoting a Tunisian NGO.

According to the NGO, the migrants “died of thirst and cold”.

The bodies were found recently in a mountainous area near Haïdra, in central-western Tunisia, not far from the border with Algeria.

An investigation was opened, Kasserine court spokesman Riadh Nwiwi told the media, adding that an autopsy has been ordered to determine the causes of death.

The Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), which follows migration issues in Tunisia, said in a statement that “according to preliminary data, the nine migrants died of cold, thirst and fatigue.”

According to the FTDES, “migrants travel great distances in hostile climate for multiple reasons: to escape wars and tragedies, difficult economic conditions or climate change.”

The forum called for the establishment of “a system of reception and humanitarian orientation at the Algerian-Tunisian border to ensure to the migrants basic humanitarian services” on these “deadly migratory routes.”

Between January and April, the number of irregular migrant entries into the European Union through the central Mediterranean reportedly increased by almost 300% compared to the same period of 2022, reaching 42,200.