Tunisian human rights organisations have been sharing footage of Tunisian officials transporting a group of migrants to the border with Libya on September 27 and abandoning them in the desert. The group, which was intercepted trying to reach Europe by boat, was made up of about a hundred men, women and children, including at least three pregnant women. We spoke to one man who described how the group was left stranded.
At least nine videos of the incident show a harrowing sequence of events: Tunisian officials arresting a group of migrants on September 26 and then, the next day, deporting them and abandoning them in the desert at the Libyan border.
The Tunisian Coast Guard intercepted the group, made up of migrants of sub-Saharan African origin as well as Tunisians, which was attempting to reach Italy by boat on the night of September 26. While the Tunisian nationals were released, many of the people from sub-Saharan Africa were forcibly deported to Libya and left stranded in the desert.
A video filmed by a passenger shows men, women and young children in a bus heading for the Libyan border.
Another video shows a dozen people who say they are “in the desert” on the border between Libya and Tunisia and that they don’t have any help. They also say that they were mistreated by authorities.
In a third video, a man films a woman who he says is “eight months pregnant, who hasn’t eaten for several days and who is weak.”
