Migrants are thrown from balconies and hacked with swords in Tunisia, with up to 40, including women and children, injured in a retaliatory attack after a local was stabbed to death
- The attack on African migrants took place in Sfax, Tunisia, on Tuesday night
- It comes after locals vowed to ‘avenge’ the death of a man allegedly killed by migrants
Dozens of African migrants have been injured after being thrown from balconies and attacked with ‘swords’ in Tunisia, a medic has claimed.
Doctor Lazhar Neji said between 30 and 40 migrants, including women and children, were injured after the “inhumane” and “bloody” attack in Sfax, Tunisia, on Tuesday.
It comes after residents vowed to ‘avenge’ the death of a 41-year-old Tunisian man at his funeral after he was stabbed to death on Monday during an altercation with three suspected Cameroonian migrants.
During the protests, hundreds of Tunisians gathered in the streets and blocked streets by burning tires as they demanded the deportation of all illegal migrants, AFP said.
And videos shared on social media showed police chasing dozens of migrants from their homes to the cheers of city residents before loading them into police cars.
It comes after residents vowed to ‘avenge’ the death of a 41-year-old Tunisian man at his funeral (pictured) after he was stabbed to death on Monday during an altercation with three suspected Cameroonian migrants
On the Facebook page of the non-governmental group Sayeb Trottoir, hospital emergency room medic Lazhar Neji condemned the “inhuman, bloody night that makes you shake.”
He said the hospital had taken in between 30 and 40 injured migrants, including women and children, saying “some were thrown from terraces, others attacked with swords.”
Other images showed migrants lying on the ground, hands on their heads, surrounded by residents armed with batons waiting for police to arrive to hand them over.
Police then detained some migrants and deported them to the Libyan border, more than 200 miles away, according to a local human rights group.
Meanwhile, others were taken to the site of the Sfax International Fair, where they would be transferred elsewhere, said Romdane Ben Amor, head of the Forum for Economic and Social Rights.
Police then detained some migrants and deported them to the Libyan border, more than 200 miles away according to a local human rights organization
Meanwhile, others were taken to the grounds of the Sfax International Fair, where they would be transferred elsewhere
Sfax, the second largest city in the North African country, is a starting point for many migrants who want to reach EU member state Italy by sea, usually the island of Lampedusa about 130 kilometers away.
Tunisia has seen an increase in racially motivated attacks following President Kais Saied’s comments in February in which he accused ‘hordes’ of illegal migrants of committing violence and claimed a ‘criminal plot’ to change the country’s demographics.
With a population of 12 million, Tunisia is home to an estimated 21,000 migrants from other parts of Africa, representing just 0.2 percent of the population.