34 migrants are missing after the fifth boat to capsize in two days
34 migrants are missing after the fifth boat to capsize in two days
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Tunis: The fifth shipwreck in two days left at least 34 African migrants missing on Friday after their boat capsized off Tunisia, bringing the total number of missing people to 67, according to Tunisian officials. This is due to a sharp increase in boats sailing towards Italy.

After at least five people died and 33 went missing during an attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Tunisia, the Italian coast guard announced on Thursday that it had saved about 750 migrants in two separate operations off the southern Italian coast.

Seven people, including infants and children, died when the boat capsized off the coast of the city of Sfax, according to Tunisian Judge Faouzi Masmoudi. According to Houssem Jebabli, a National Guard official.

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the Coast Guard stopped 56 boats headed for Italy in just two days and detained more than 3,000 migrants, the majority of whom were from sub-Saharan African nations.

In contrast to the same period in 2022, when only 1,300 migrants arrived in Italy from Tunisia, at least 12,000 have done so this year. Prior to now, Libya served as the primary departure point for migrants from the area.

People fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in search of a chance at a better life in Europe increasingly leave from the coastline of Sfax.

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Concerns in Europe, particularly in Tunisia's neighbour Italy, have been raised as Tunisia struggles with its worst financial crisis as a result of deadlocked loan negotiations with the International Monetary Fund amid worries about a debt repayment default.

Since President Kais Saied seized the majority of the country's power in July 2021, shutting down parliament and establishing rule by decree, Tunisia has been engulfed in political unrest.

If Tunisia's financial stability is not preserved, Europe runs the risk of having a massive influx of migrants from North Africa, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on Friday.

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Meloni urged the IMF and a few nations to assist Tunisia right away in order to prevent its demise. He warned that "we risk unleashing an unprecedented wave of migration" if we do not adequately address those issues.

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