More than 400 migrants stopped by Tunisia

The Tunisian coast guard states that on the night of Sunday, they stopped more than 400 people trying to reach Europe by sea.

The migrants were stopped off the coast of the North African country.

“During the night between February 18 and 19, coast guard units in the center, north and south succeeded in stopping 16 attempts to cross (to Europe) and rescued 423 people,” the country’s coast guard writes in a statement on its official Facebook page.

At the same time, the announcement states that these are 71 Tunisians and 352 people from African countries south of the Sahara.

Migrants on and off the African continent have long fled via Tunisia, which is 125 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa. But the long-term economic crisis in Tunisia means that more Tunisians themselves are now trying to escape to what they hope is a better life in Europe.