Hundreds of Fearful Sub-Saharan Migrants Flee Tunisia

Sub-Saharan African migrants camp outside the headquarters of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tunis, Tunisia on March 2, 2023. (AFP)
Sub-Saharan African migrants camp outside the headquarters of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tunis, Tunisia on March 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Hundreds of Fearful Sub-Saharan Migrants Flee Tunisia

Sub-Saharan African migrants camp outside the headquarters of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tunis, Tunisia on March 2, 2023. (AFP)
Sub-Saharan African migrants camp outside the headquarters of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Tunis, Tunisia on March 2, 2023. (AFP)

Around 300 nationals of Ivory Coast and Mali were to be flown home from Tunisia on Saturday, fearful of a wave of violence against sub-Saharan migrants since President Kais Saied delivered a controversial tirade against them last month.

In his February 21 speech, Saied ordered officials to take "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration, claiming without evidence that "a criminal plot" was underway "to change Tunisia's demographic makeup".

Saied charged that migrants were behind most crime in the North African country, fueling a spate of sackings, evictions and physical attacks against the community, AFP said.

The African Union expressed "deep shock and concern at the form and substance" of Saied's remarks, while governments in sub-Saharan Africa scrambled to organize the repatriation of hundreds of fearful nationals who flocked to their embassies for help.

A first group of 50 Guineans were flown home on Wednesday, while Mali and Ivory Coast are to repatriate 300 of their citizens on special flights on Saturday.

"Air Cote d'Ivoire has a flight scheduled for 0700 (0600 GMT) on Saturday morning that will carry 145 passengers," Ivorian ambassador Ibrahim Sy Savane said.

In total, 1,100 Ivorians have applied to be repatriated from Tunisia, he added.

According to official figures, there are around 21,000 undocumented sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia, a country of about 12 million inhabitants.

The Ivorian community numbers around 7,000 people.

Mali has also chartered a plane to repatriate around 150 people.

Junta leader Colonel Assimi Goita has given "very firm instructions" to assist nationals who are in distress, a Malian diplomat in Tunis told AFP.

Guineans among the first group to be repatriated on Wednesday said they had been subjected to manhunts in Tunisia.

Ibrahima Barry, 26, spoke of a "wave of hatred without reason".

"In Tunisia, if I tell you that they are savages, it is not too strong a word," he told AFP.

Many of the sub-Saharan African migrants in Tunisia lost their jobs and homes overnight.

Dozens were arrested after identity checks, and some are still being detained.

'Mob justice'
Since Saied gave his speech, rights groups have reported a spike in vigilante violence including stabbings of sub-Saharan Africans.

Jean Bedel Gnabli, deputy head of an association for sub-Saharan migrants, said the whole community was living in fear.

"They feel like they've been handed over to mob justice."

Migrants whose countries have embassies in Tunisia rushed to them seeking assistance.

The embassies of Ivory Coast and Mali provided emergency accommodation this week for dozens of their citizens who had been evicted from their homes, including young children.

Those with no diplomatic representation in Tunisia set up makeshift camps outside the Tunis offices of the International Organization for Migration.

Among those heading home are dozens of fee-paying or scholarship students who were enrolled in Tunisian universities and in the country legally.

AESAT, an association that supports them, sent out a message this week urging them "not to go out, even to go to class, until authorities ensure we are properly protected from these attacks". The warning has been extended until Monday.

AESAT reported last month that four Ivorian students had been assaulted when they left their dorms, while a student from Gabon was attacked in her home.

Many students from sub-Saharan Africa have already flown home at their own expense, a student representative said.



Trump Says He Will Ease Sanctions on Syria, Moves to Restore Relations with New Leader

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Says He Will Ease Sanctions on Syria, Moves to Restore Relations with New Leader

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will move to normalize relations and lift sanctions on Syria's new government to give the country “a chance at peace."

Trump was set to meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad. He said the effort at rapprochement came at the urging of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump said of Syria, adding, “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”

The developments were a major boost for the Syrian president who at one point was imprisoned in Iraq for his role in the insurgency following the 2003 US-led invasion of the country.  

Sharaa was named president of Syria in January, a month after a stunning offensive by opposition groups led by his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS that stormed Damascus ending the 54-year rule of the Assad family.

The US has been weighing how to handle Sharaa since he took power in December.  

Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place.

“The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow,” the White House said before Trump's remarks.

The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump, who had until now been deeply skeptical of Sharaa.

Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaeda insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003 and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.

Sharaa, whom the US once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaeda, came back to his home country after the conflict began in 2011 where he led al-Qaeda’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front. He later changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and cut links with al-Qaeda.

Sharaa is set to become the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since the late Hafez al-Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000.