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Tunisian President Seeks to Reassure 'Legal' Migrants

FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied speaks during a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied speaks during a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP, File)
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Tunisian President Seeks to Reassure 'Legal' Migrants

FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied speaks during a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Tunisia's President Kais Saied speaks during a media conference at an EU Africa summit in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. (Johanna Geron, Pool Photo via AP, File)

Tunisian President Kais Saied called Thursday for his government to take care of "legal" migrants from sub-Saharan Africa while doubling down on controversial remarks that illegal immigration was causing "demographic" change.

"People who are legally in Tunisia should be reassured," Saied said during a meeting with Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine on the security situation in the country.

Saied called on state officials to "look after our brothers from sub-Saharan Africa who are in a legal situation", according to a video published on the official presidency website.

But he stressed that "there is no question of allowing anyone in an illegal situation to stay in Tunisia".

"I will not allow the institutions of the state to be undermined or the demographic composition of Tunisia to be changed," he added.

On Wednesday, Tunisian rights groups accused the president of hate speech after he said a day earlier that "hordes" of sub-Saharan African migrants were causing crime and posed a "demographic" threat, AFP said.

Saied, who has seized almost total power since a dramatic July 2021 move against parliament, had urged his national security council on Tuesday to take "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration.

A statement from his office, decrying "a criminal plot... to change Tunisia's demographic make-up" without citing any evidence, has sparked an outcry online.

"Hordes of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa are still arriving, with all the violence, crime and unacceptable practices that entails," Saied told his national security council on Tuesday evening, according to the statement.

Some Tunisians took to social media to accuse the president of outright racism and invoking right-wing conspiracy theories.

Advocacy group the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) said Wednesday Saied's discourse was "drowning in racism and hatred".

Saied countered on Thursday that those who accused him of racism "want division and discord and seek to damage our relations with our brothers".

According to official figures quoted by the FTDES, Tunisia, which has a population of some 12 million, is home to more than 21,000 nationals from sub-Saharan African countries, most of them having arrived in an irregular situation.

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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to pursue peace in Syria and warned that Israel’s efforts to spread war across the Middle East are undermining the environment fostered by the Astana Process.

Fidan emphasized the importance of Russian and Iranian efforts within the framework of the Astana Process to maintain calm on the ground, pointing to ongoing consultations with the US regarding the Syrian crisis.

Speaking during a parliamentary session discussing the 2025 budget of the Foreign Ministry, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s expectation that the dialogue proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be approached strategically by the Syrian government, with priority given to the interests of the Syrian people.

Regarding Erdogan’s invitation to Assad for a meeting to discuss the normalization of ties between Ankara and Damascus, Fidan remarked that the matter depends on political will, stressing that the Turkish president has demonstrated his readiness at the highest level.

Last week, Erdogan reiterated the possibility of a meeting with Assad, but Russia, which mediates the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, ruled out such a meeting or high-level engagements in the near future.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev attributed the impasse to Türkiye’s refusal to meet Damascus’ demand for a withdrawal from northern Syria, accusing Ankara of acting as an “occupying state”.

Although Türkiye has not officially responded to Lavrentiev’s comments, which reflect a shift in Russia’s stance, Fidan stated in a televised interview last week that Russia remains “somewhat neutral” regarding the normalization process. He also urged the Syrian government to create conditions for the return of 10 million Syrian refugees.

Türkiye maintains that its military presence in northern Syria prevents the country’s division, blocks the establishment of a “terror corridor” along its southern border, and deters new waves of refugees from entering its territory.

Fidan outlined his country’s key objectives in Syria, which include eradicating terrorist groups (such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces), preserving Syria’s territorial unity, advancing the political process, and ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery targeted villages and positions controlled by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose main component is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On Friday, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian National Army factions and the SDF in western Tel Abyad, northern Raqqa. Simultaneously, Turkish artillery strikes reportedly killed two SDF members and injured others, with reports of captives and missing personnel.

In retaliation, the SDF shelled Turkish bases in the Ain Issa countryside. Turkish forces responded by deploying military reinforcements amid heightened alert at their bases in Raqqa’s countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).