Tunisian navy rescues 194 illegal migrants

The Tunisian navy announced the rescue of 194 illegal migrants intercepted at sea while crossing the Mediterranean heading to Europe.

According to Tuesday's announcement, the rescue involved nine different operations during two days.

Most migrants are Tunisian and 76 originated from sub-Saharan African countries, including 42 women and eight children.

On Monday, eight bodies of migrants, probably Tunisians who had been missing for a fortnight, were recovered from the sea off southeast Tunisia, according to the local Red Crescent.

According to official figures, since the beginning of the year, more than 22,500 migrants have been intercepted off the Tunisian coast. Of these, nearly 11,000 originated from sub-Saharan Africa.

According to the European agency Frontex, the central Mediterranean route was used by more than 42,500 migrants from January to July, an increase of 44% compared to the first seven months of 2021.