The Tunisian coast guard reports recovering a total of 901 bodies of drowned migrants off its coast so far this year. This marks an unprecedented number of victims off the country's coasts, according to Tunisia's interior minister.
Tunisia's Interior Minister Feki said the majority of the 901 bodies were unidentified, with only 36 of them having their identities established as Tunisian nationals and 267 as foreign migrants.
The actual number of dead, however, is actually higher as the statistic only takes recovered bodies into consideration.
This year's overall death toll on the Central Mediterranean route from Tunisia and Libya to Italy, which is considered the world's deadliest migration route, currently stands at 1,769.
The real number is assumed to be far higher, with many of the victims never being recovered or reported.
Read more: Toddler drowns, Italian police arrest 2 alleged smugglers
Thousands reach Italy despite dangers
Tunisia saw a record number of irregular migrants leaving for Europe from its shores this year, replacing Libya as the main point of departure for migrants and refugees in North Africa.
Over 86,000 migrants have succeeded in reaching Italy to date this year, according to the latest figure published by UN migration agency IOM. Last year, a total of 105,000 people were registered as having arrived on Italian shores throughout the entire year, putting 2023 on track of breaking that record.
According to Italian authorities, the majority of those arrivals had left from Tunisia.
Most of the migrant boats depart from the coast of Sfax in the direction of Italy, which has resulted in thousands of migrants coming to the coastal city this year.
Tensions have risen between local populations and migrants, with reports of xenophobia and racism surfacing daily.
Tunisian President Kais Saied himself has been accused of using anti-migrant and incendiary rhetoric against newcomers in his country.
Read more: EU-Tunisia migration deal: Encouraging the people smugglers?
EU deal despite rising hostility toward migrants
Despite these social repercussions, Tunisia signed a strategic memorandum with the EU earlier this month. The agreement is aimed at keeping migrants and refugees away from Europe by increasing sea patrols and cracking down on traffickers.
Many Tunisians reject that deal, which would mean a major cash injection into the country’s ailing economy in return.
NGOs and international bodies including UN refugee agency UNHCR also fear that Tunisia cannot guarantee that the human rights of migrants will be respected after months of clashes and skirmishes between the local population and foreigners.
In the long run, this might result in Tunisia's current migrant population moving elsewhere -- such as back to neighboring Libya -- to try to reach to European shores from there.
In addition to deaths at sea, there have also been reports of migrants dying in the desert after Tunisian authorities forcibly moved them to the country's border with Libya. The bodies of five such deported migrants, including children, were found in the area by Libyan border guards earlier this week.
An independent panel of UK experts has since demanded that Tunisia stop these "collective expulsions" of migrants.
Read more: Tunisia's oppressive course threatens human rights, Amnesty warns
with Reuters