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Berlin,Tunis enter pact to repatriate Tunisian migrants

Tunisia

Authorities in Berlin and Tunis are working towards launching a pilot project to return rejected asylum seekers to Tunisia, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in Tunisia, the last stop on his North African tour.

The system of effective deportation will be tested by sending the first group of twenty Tunisians from Germany, prior to an arrangement for regular returns.

“I spoke to the Prime Minister of Tunisia. This plan does not entail all Tunisians in Germany. Tens of thousands of Tunisians live and are welcome in Germany and they are seen there as good citizens. It’s the Tunisians who are illegally in Germany, and whose asylum applications was rejected. I agreed with the Tunisian Prime Minister on the details of the renewed terms and we have already announced to the public,” he declared.

The operation will be done using charter flights of 25 passengers, escorted by German agents, fully controlled by Germany.

The two countries also agreed to deepen their cooperation on security and the fight against terrorism.

Tunisia was hit in 2015 by three major attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, in which the dead include 59 foreign tourists.

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