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At Least 20 Die as Migrant Boat Sinks Off Tunisia

FILE - Migrants are seen on a boat after being rescued by Tunisian coast guard, off the coast of Bizerte, Tunisia, Oct. 12, 2017. Reuters
FILE - Migrants are seen on a boat after being rescued by Tunisian coast guard, off the coast of Bizerte, Tunisia, Oct. 12, 2017. Reuters
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At Least 20 Die as Migrant Boat Sinks Off Tunisia

FILE - Migrants are seen on a boat after being rescued by Tunisian coast guard, off the coast of Bizerte, Tunisia, Oct. 12, 2017. Reuters
FILE - Migrants are seen on a boat after being rescued by Tunisian coast guard, off the coast of Bizerte, Tunisia, Oct. 12, 2017. Reuters

At least 20 migrants from Africa died when their boat sank off Tunisia on Thursday as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a Tunisian security official told Reuters.

He said the coastguard rescued five people, and they were searching for about 20 others who were on board the boat.

The coastline near the Tunisian port city of Sfax has become a major departure point for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East and searching for a better life in Europe.

"The boat sank about six miles from the coast of Sfax," the security official, Ali Ayari, said.

Around 45 people were on the boat when it sank, he added.

War-torn Libya has also become a key embarkation point for migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, attempting death-defying voyages to Europe to flee conflict and poverty at home.

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Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
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Lebanon Returns 70 Officers and Soldiers to Syria, Security Official Says

A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)
A member of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government inspects vehicles at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border with Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. (AP)

Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said.

Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar al-Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad's regime was toppled on Dec 8.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organization with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon's northern Arida crossing.

SOHR and the security official said the returnees were detained by Syria's new ruling authorities after crossing the border.

The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are "remnants" of the Assad regime.

Several of the cities and towns concerned, including in Homs and Tartous provinces, are near the porous border with Lebanon.

The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials.

Lebanese and Syrian government officials did not immediately respond to written requests for comment on the incident.

Reuters reported on Friday that Rifaat al-Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982, had flown out of Beirut recently, as had "many members" of the Assad family.

Earlier this month, Lebanese caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mawlawi said other Syrian officials had entered Lebanon illegally and were being pursued.