Tunisia coastguards intercept boats carrying mostly Bangladeshi!

Tunisia has detained 372 would-be migrants who risked their lives by sea to reach Europe. Some of them are Bangladeshis.

Africa News reported this information in a report on Monday (April 24). According to media reports, the Tunisian Coast Guard conducted an operation on the coast of Sfax, located 200 kilometers south of the capital Tunis, on Monday. At that time they saw some small boats going towards Europe. Then the boats were intercepted with speedboats.

Some of the boats were so crowded that they capsized in small waves. The would-be migrants told reporters they hoped to enter international waters first by boat. They will then be rescued from there and taken to Europe.

However, they are no longer allowed to enter international waters. Instead the boats were taken back to the Tunisian coast. Apart from Bangladeshis, some Syrians are among those who have been rescued. But most are citizens of East African countries. Many people from East Africa live in the Mediterranean country of Tunisia. But for a few days they are suffering from various discrimination in the country.

Tunisian President Kais Said commented a few days ago that the local people of Tunisia are in crisis because of Africans. After his comments, the discrimination became extreme. Since then, people from East Africa started trying to leave Tunisia.

Meanwhile, most of those brought back to shore have been released. Some of them told reporters that they will try to enter Europe by sea once again even if they fail this time.

According to the information provided by the Tunisian Coast Guard, in the first four months of this year, they have stopped about 13 thousand people from sailing. The force has also increased vigilance so that no one can travel illegally on the sea route. However, despite this, they are not able to completely stop this risky journey.

Tunisia has sought the help of neighboring Italy and Malta to deal with the issue. Mainly because most of the ships of the country's coast guard have become unusable, the operation is being disrupted.

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