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Tunisian National Guard Intensifies Search for 40 Missing Migrants

Migrants try to reach Europe from the Tunisian coast. (AFP)
Migrants try to reach Europe from the Tunisian coast. (AFP)
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Tunisian National Guard Intensifies Search for 40 Missing Migrants

Migrants try to reach Europe from the Tunisian coast. (AFP)
Migrants try to reach Europe from the Tunisian coast. (AFP)

The search for a boat carrying around 40 Tunisian migrants, which disappeared a week ago, remains ongoing, according to a security official in Tunisia.

Hossam El-Din El-Jababli, spokesperson for the National Guard, informed the German Press Agency (dpa) on Wednesday that there is currently no information available regarding the whereabouts of the missing migrants.

The search operations, conducted at sea and by helicopters, are focused on the Sfax and Mahdia coasts.

Expressing frustration over the lack of updates since the boat's disappearance, families of the missing migrants reportedly erected roadblocks and set tires ablaze in the town of El Hancha on Tuesday, as reported by local media.

Relatives who lost contact with the migrants alerted the National Guard, prompting the launch of the search efforts, said El-Jababli.

According to security information, the boat set sail from the Sfax coast late at night on January 10, aiming to cross the Mediterranean for entry into Italy. The Italian authorities have provided no information regarding the incident.

Tunisian coasts have experienced a surge in migrant journeys seeking routes to Italy, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa. Thousands of migrants from this region reside in coastal cities.

Eastern Tunisia, alongside Libya, is the main departure point for thousands of illegal migrants escaping to Europe.

During the first 11 months of 2023, Tunisian authorities intercepted 69,963 migrants, compared to 31,297 in the same period in 2022, according to figures shared by the National Guard.

Of that figure, 77.5 percent (54,224) were foreigners, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, while the remainder (15,739) were Tunisian, compared to 59% foreigners in 2022.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 2,270 people died attempting to cross the central Mediterranean in 2023, a 60 percent increase from the previous year.

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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 

The brief detention of Talal Naji, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), by Syrian authorities has renewed scrutiny over the status of Palestinian factions still operating in Syria, particularly those that aligned with the former Assad regime.

Naji’s arrest and swift release come amid a major political realignment following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Once one of the most active and heavily armed Palestinian groups in Syria, the PFLP-GC now faces an uncertain future, along with other factions that were long tolerated—or even supported—under Assad’s rule.

A well-informed Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new Syrian administration has appointed a figure known as Abu Abdul Rahman al-Shami to oversee the file of Palestinian factions. Since assuming the role, al-Shami has convened multiple meetings with faction representatives, including regular attendees from the PFLP-GC, to discuss the fate of their fighters, weapons, property, and military infrastructure.

According to the source, al-Shami has made it clear that the new government intends to hold accountable any individuals or groups implicated in crimes against Syrian civilians during the civil war. Palestinian factions have been instructed to surrender all weapons and military equipment, and to limit their activities to humanitarian and relief work. The PFLP-GC, the source said, has largely complied.

Despite the fall of the Assad regime, Naji and much of the PFLP-GC’s second- and third-tier leadership have remained in Syria. Its offices in Damascus reportedly continue to operate, though under heightened scrutiny. Other faction leaders, however, have fled. Among them are Khaled Abdul Majid (Popular Struggle Front), Ziyad al-Saghir (Fatah–Intifada), Mohammad al-Saeed (Liwa al-Quds), and Saed Abdel Al (Free Palestine Movement). Most are believed to have sought refuge in Lebanon.

Sources confirmed that several PFLP-GC fighters have been detained in recent weeks in connection with alleged war crimes committed during their cooperation with Assad’s forces. The Syrian government has also moved to seize faction offices and military installations across the country, including properties belonging to Fatah–Intifada, the Free Palestine Movement, and the Sa’iqa Forces. Sa’iqa’s leader, Mohammad Qais, remains in Syria.

In a further blow, authorities have reportedly frozen bank accounts belonging to some Palestinian factions, both in state and private banks, although it remains unclear whether the PFLP-GC is among them.

Additionally, it is widely believed that the PFLP-GC has handed over its military training camps, which were previously spread across Damascus countryside, Daraa, Aleppo, and Suwayda. “The situation is extremely sensitive, and everyone is anxious,” one Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s likely they’ve surrendered those sites.”

The sense of unease deepened last month when Syrian authorities detained two senior Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus: Khaled Khaled, head of the group’s Syria bureau, and Abu Ali Yasser, its chief organizational officer. Both remain in custody, and no official charges have been announced.

The current atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has driven faction leaders to avoid public comment. Most now insist on anonymity when speaking to local or international media.

Before the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Syria hosted more than a dozen Palestinian factions. As the conflict escalated, the Assad regime encouraged the formation of new pro-regime groups, composed largely of Palestinian refugees, to fight alongside its forces.