With the assistance of local authorities and the National Guard, the 28 Sierra Leoneans were transferred to a police station before being moved to a shelter managed by IOM
A Tunisian rights group has reported rescuing 28 migrants and asylum seekers, including 25 Sierra Leoneans, who were abandoned without water and food near the Tunisian-Algerian border.
The Federation of Tunisian Citizens for Rights and Freedoms (FTDES) described the migrants’ condition as catastrophic, finding them in dire need of assistance. Among those rescued were seven women, three of whom are pregnant, and two children.
These individuals were part of a larger group of 42 who had been forcibly displaced and left in the desert. According to FTDES spokesman Romdhane Ben Amor, many of the remaining migrants are believed to be hiding out of fear of the police.
The migrants, initially expelled from the coastal city of Sfax—Tunisia’s main departure point for Europe—were taken by authorities to the Gafsa governorate, bordering Algeria in southwestern Tunisia.
With the assistance of local authorities and the National Guard, the 28 Sierra Leoneans were transferred to a police station before being moved to a shelter managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The situation underscores the perilous conditions faced by Sierra Leoneans and other West African migrants as they attempt to escape hardship by making dangerous journeys across North Africa.
