TUNIS —
Tunisian coastguards “rescued” more than 250 migrants who were attempting to
cross the Mediterranean to Italy, the North African country’s National Guard
said on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
Maritime
authorities “were able ... to rescue 255 would-be migrants, including 170 people
of various African nationalities, with the remainder Tunisians,” the National
Guard said in a statement on Facebook.
The attempted
crossings — 17 in total — took place on the night of Friday to Saturday from
the east of Tunisia, according to National Guard spokesman Houcem Eddine
Jebabli.
The statement did
not indicate whether any vessels had got into difficulty or sunk but did note
that an unspecified sum of cash was seized during the operations.
The National Guard
also on Friday carried out a “pre-emptive operation”, arresting five people who
were “preparing to lead an illegal immigration bid departing from the coast of
Sousse province in the east of the country”, Jebabli said.
The Tunisian
coastguard announced in mid-July that 455 migrants had been “rescued” in
several operations off the northern, eastern and southern coasts of the
country.
Attempts by
migrants to reach
Europe from the North African coastline tend to increase in
spring and summer, due to the lower risk of stormy seas.
Tunisia and
Libya are
principal departure points and Italy a favoured destination.
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