Migrants suffering between life and death in the Tunisia-Libya desert

 In recent months, Libyan border guards rescued various migrants who had been abandoned in the desert by Tunisian officials, according to authorities.

Reportedly, migrants were left without water, food, or shelter. According to reports, hundreds of people from Sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly relocated to the Libyan desert and dangerous places because of protests in Sfax, Tunisia’s second-largest city.

Recently, a Libyan guard near the border with Tunisia stumbled and found a black African man collapsed on the sand in the oppressive midday heat. The situation looked tense. 

The man was hardly breathing, and police used a few drops of water on his lips to resuscitate him. According to Libyan border guards and migrants, the man was among hundreds of migrants who arrived in Libya after leaving Tunisia because of racial unrest in early July in Sfax.

According to AFP, the border guards rescued nearly 100 men and women from Sebkhat Al-Magta, a salt lake along the Libya-Tunisia border. They said that they came from Libya. 

Libyan border guards revealed that they found migrants in the border region near Al-Assah, which is about 150 kilometers west of Tripoli. 

Hundreds of migrants from Sub-Saharan African countries were driven out of the Tunisian port city of Sfax because racial tensions erupted in the aftermath of the murder of a Tunisian man in a conflict between Tunisian citizens and migrants.

According to Arab News, Haitham Yahiya, a man from Sudan, said he worked in Tunisia's construction sector for a year after sneaking into Tunisia via Niger and Algeria.

He reportedly said, “I was at work when they caught me. Then they left me and told me to go to Libya.” 

Reportedly, Tunisia is a significant entry point for migrants embarking on risky maritime voyages in search of a better life in European countries.