Tunisia Thwarts 16 Illegal Immigration Attempts, Coast Guard Rescues 423 Immigrants

The Tunisian Coast Guard announced the rescue of 423 migrants in one night off the country's coast, in addition to thwarting 16 attempts to illegally migrate by sea towards the European coast.

The official spokesman for the National Guard published a statement in which he said: "During the night between February 18 and 19, units belonging to the Naval Guard region in the center, north, and south managed to thwart 16 rescue operations and rescue 423 people."

The immigrants are 71 Tunisians and 352 sub-Saharan nationalities, according to the statement.

Tunisia represents a transit point for thousands of immigrants from sub-Saharan countries, who are heading on illegal voyages by sea to the European coasts, particularly the Italian ones.

Also, on the seventeenth of February, the Tunisian authorities announced that they had thwarted illegal immigration attempts across the land and sea borders.