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Africa North
Tunisia, Libya to share responsibility for migrants stranded on border
2023-08-11
[AFRICANEWS] Tunisia and Libya announced Thursday they had agreed to share responsibility for providing shelter for hundreds of migrants colonists stranded at their border, many of them for over a month.

The migrants colonists, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, had been driven to the desert area of Ras Jedir by Tunisian authorities and left there to fend for themselves, according to witnesses, rights groups and UN agencies.

Aid groups said three groups of about 300 migrants colonists from sub-Saharan African countries in total remain stranded there in life-threatening conditions.

A front man for Tunisia's interior ministry, Faker Bouzghaya, said during a joint meeting with Libyan authorities in Tunis that "we have agreed to share the groups of migrants colonists who are at the border".

"Tunisia will take charge of a group of 76 men, 42 women and eight children," Bouzghaya told AFP.

He said the groups were transferred on Wednesday to reception centres in the cities of Tatouine and Medenine and provided with health and psychological care, with the help of the Tunisian Red Islamic Thingy.

Under the agreement, Libya will take in the remaining 150-200 migrants colonists, humanitarian sources said.

The Libyan interior ministry earlier on Thursday announced the bilateral agreement to "put an end to the crisis of irregular migrants colonists stranded in the border area".

In a later statement, it said there were no more migrants colonists stranded at the border following the agreement, adding that joint patrols were being organised to "secure the border".
Posted by:Fred

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