The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tunisia announced the beginning of the evacuation of thousands of illegal migrants in the city of Sfax in the south of the country.
“The evacuation of the camps located in the areas of El-Amir and Djibniyan in Sfax began on Thursday. First of all, the largest camp was disbanded, where there were about 4 thousand people,” said the press secretary of the Main Directorate of the National Guard at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tunisa Khussaeddin Dzhabachabas.
He noted that illegal migrants from countries south of Sakhara lived in these camps, and emphasized that the evacuation was “peacefully, without intervention of security forces”, with the participation of the Tunisian Red Crescent, the Ministry of Health and the divisions of the civil defense service.
Jabababy also stated that the evacuation process will continue in stages, and all the camps are planned to be disbanded “as soon as possible.” According to him, in coordination with local authorities, temporary shelter for pregnant women and children is provided.
Tunisia’s authorities clarified that the evacuation of camps in the areas of El-Amir and Djibniyan is carried out “as part of safety measures in order to reduce overpopulation.” However, they did not report exactly where the evacuated migrants would be translated.
According to the statements of Khaled Jarad, the chairman of the Tunisian Committee on Illegal Migration, as of January 2025, about 20 thousand illegal migrants lived in Sfax in the regions of El-Air and Djibniyan. At the same time, there are currently no accurate official data on the number of illegal migrants in other regions of the country.
Every year, thousands of illegal migrants from Africa countries south of Sakhara arrive in Tunisia – a country bordering Libya and Algeria – in the hope of crossing the Mediterranean Sea and getting to Europe in search of a better life. The Tunisian authorities regularly report attempts to illegally cross the sea border.
In September 2023, the European Commission announced the allocation of Tunisia in the amount of 127 million euros as part of a memorandum of understanding signed between Tunisia and the European Union. Part of these funds is designed to support efforts to contain illegal migration.