(Security): Human Rights Watch urges Tunisia to stop Expelling Migrants to Desert

Human Rights Watch on Friday, July 7, 2023, urged Tunisia to put an end to what it called the "collective expulsions" of black African migrants to a desert area near the Libyan border.

Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been left stranded in dire conditions in the south of Tunisia since being driven out of the port city of Sfax in the past week.

The rights group's statement comes against a backdrop of violence after the funeral of a 41-year-old Tunisian man who was stabbed to death in Sfax on Monday in a brawl between Tunisians and migrants.

Sfax, the North African country's second-largest city, is a departure point for many hoping to reach Europe by sea, often the Italian island of Lampedusa about 130 kilometres (80 miles) away.

"Tunisian security forces have collectively expelled several hundred Black African migrants and asylum seekers, including children and pregnant women, since July 2, to a remote, militarized buffer zone at the Tunisia-Libya border," HRW said. 

"Many reported violence by authorities during arrest or expulsion," the New York-based watchdog said in its statement. 

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