Some 16,292 irregular Tunisian migrants, including 3,430 minors, have arrived in Italy since the beginning of the current year, according to figures published by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES).
The year 2022 recorded the highest number of Tunisians arriving on Italian coasts as part of illegal immigration, compared to the previous four years (14,342 migrants in 2021 and 11,212 in 2020), specifies the Forum in its latest update. up-to-date data on irregular migration.
The number of Tunisian minors who arrived on the Italian coasts during the years 2021 and 2020 reached, respectively, 2,492 and 1,607 people, points out the same source, noting that the number of victims and missing persons of different nationalities has risen since then. the beginning of the year and until last September to 544 people.
The forum pointed out that the Tunisian authorities have managed to prevent 29,129 irregular migrants from leaving the Tunisian coasts for Italy since the beginning of the current year.
Tunisian and Libyan territorial waters are considered a transit zone for most illegal migrant boats bound for Europe.
Nearly 2,000 migrants went missing or drowned in the Mediterranean last year, compared to 1,401 in 2020, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to this organization, which estimates that more than 18,000 migrants have died or disappeared there since 2014.