Tunisia has announced that it has made available naval units, surveillance devices, and search teams at Mediterranean crossing points to counter irregular migrant departures. The Italian government has said that the move was a result of pressure applied by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.
The Italian government announced Tuesday that repatriation flights for Tunisian migrants will resume regularly on August 10 on the basis of an agreement in force with the government of their country of origin. Two flights carrying a maximum of 40 people each will be conducted every week.
About 250 migrants from Tunisia have reached the Italian island of Lampedusa in several small boats in recent days. With no space left to quarantine the new arrivals due the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians across the political spectrum are weighing in on the issue and further polarizing public opinion.
A new generation of 'vloggers' are posting videos on YouTube in an effort to transform illegal immigration and trips motivated by hope for a better future into adventures.
Tunisian President Kaies Saied and Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese met on July 27 in Tunis to discuss the control of migration flows. Lamorgese expressed strong concern for an increase of arrivals from the North African country during the meeting, interior ministry sources said.
Dozens of migrants continue to wait on board the Ocean Viking ship, after Italy and Malta both refused to grant safe harbor to the private rescue vessel. SOS Mediterranee , which runs the Ocean Viking, said it had sent five requests to both countries over the past week, asking for the boat to dock.
Morocco's navy says it saved nearly 100 migrants on several boats in the Mediterranean, according to the country's official MAP news agency. The migrants were reportedly traveling in the direction of Spain on several boats on June 18.
The UNHCR announced a joint initiative with the World Food Programme (WFP) to save up to 10,000 refugees and migrants stuck in Libya from malnourishment and starvation. The program comes amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Many African migrants remain undeterred in their endeavor to reach Europe despite the global pandemic situation due to the novel coronavirus and increased security measures. In Niger, it’s business-as-usual for migrants.
The UN refugee agency is warning that the humanitarian crisis in Libya is becoming even worse. Fighting has increased and Libya's healthcare system is ill-prepared to handle a coronavirus outbreak. At least one person in Libya has died of Covid-19 so far.
After living in Germany for more than a year, Amin met a German woman and fell hopelessly in love. Two years after the beginning of their romance, Amin was deported to Algeria. Since then, they have done everything they can to be reunited. Here is Amin's story, in his own words:
The film "Strange Fish", playing in this year's Global Migration Film Festival, tells the story of a group of fishermen in Zarzis, southern Tunisia, and how their lives have been affected by the migration which criss-crosses the waters in which they fish. InfoMigrants spoke to the film's director Giulia Bertoluzzi and one of the anonymous heroes, fisherman Chamseddine Bourassine.