The cumulative total of migrant fatalities at sea was unprecedented over such a short period, Tunisia's National Guard has declared. The deaths of mostly sub-Saharan Africans come amid an ongoing spike in migration northwards.
Xenophobic violence against people from sub-Saharan Africa has increased after widely criticized remarks by Tunisia's president. In February, President Kais Saied said migrants from the south were part of an international plot to change the country's demographic makeup.
Tunisian President Kais Saied has ordered security forces to "halt the illegal migration of African migrants into the country." But has North Africa really become the new go-to destination for African migrants and refugees? DW looks at the facts.
An anti-migrant crackdown and rise in racist attacks in Tunisia has pushed some sub-Saharan migrants to fly back to their home countries. Meanwhile, protests against President Kais Saied's anti-migrant statements continue.
President Kais Saied's comments have incited attacks on sub-Saharan migrants amid a wider crackdown. But the African Union and others have called for apologies, giving migrants hope.
Several countries have said they are repatriating their citizens from Tunisia after President Kais Saied ordered security forces to take "urgent measures" against "hordes" of sub-Saharan African migrants, accusing them of being behind a wave of crime without evidence. Scores of sub-Saharan African migrants have been evicted from their homes and released from their jobs while reports of attacks on migrants are on the rise.
The Tunisian president has repeated his claim that an increase of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa is part of a criminal plot to change the country's demographics. At the same time he rejected accusations of racism.
Tunisia's President Kais Saied denounced undocumented sub-Saharan African immigration to his country on Tuesday, saying in comments criticised by rights groups that it was aimed at changing Tunisia's demographic make-up.
Twenty-three rights groups have accused the Tunisian state of cracking down on migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and "turning a blind eye to the rise of hateful and racist speech."
Seedy Saidykhan fled Gambia as a teenager six years ago. Now in Germany, he is trying to help young migrants to find their feet and believe in themselves.
Migrants in Casablanca have clashed with police during an attempt to remove them from a makeshift camp. Witnesses claim that authorities "often attack" sub-Saharan migrants "to get rid of them".
The human rights organization Amnesty International has accused the governments of Spain and Morocco of using "unlawful and lethal force" at the border between Melilla and Morocco in June this year. Amnesty holds them responsible for the deaths of at least 37 people and 77 missing.