The International Maritime Organization announced on Wednesday the creation of a new Tunisian SAR zone, making it possible to intercept the boats of illegal migrants attempting the crossing to reach the Italian coast.
The Tunisian Minister of Defense, Imed Memmich had already declared, in May, that this future SAR zone will be “an integral part of national sovereignty”.
From now on, the Tunisian navy will be able to carry out operations to intercept and push back migrants along the entire length of this zone, and any vessel carrying out rescue operations in the Tunisian SAR zone will have to respond to the instructions of the Tunisian authorities.
The spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), Romdhane Ben Amor affirmed, in a Facebook post, that this is an “officialization of the Tunisian trap against migrants”.
