Tunisian National Guard, said on Friday it intercepted 74 undocumented migrants of sub-Saharan African nationalities off its southeast coast.
The National Guard spokesman, Houcemeddine Jbabli, said they apprehended the migrants while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.
“As part of the fight against illegal immigration, we foiled two illegal immigration attempts late Thursday night off the Sfax coast,” Jbabli said in a statement.
He stated that those immigrants were trying to cross the Mediterranean toward the Italian island of Lampedusa.
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The island of Lampedusa is about 80 kilometres away from the Tunisian coast.
It is usually the first stop chosen by undocumented migrants for their sea voyage toward Italy.
Despite the strict measures by the Tunisian authorities to tackle illegal immigration, the number of migrants attempting to reach Italy via Tunisia has been on the rise. (Xinhua)
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