Tunisian authorities have continued to deport hundreds of sub-Saharan African migrants to militarised buffer areas between Tunisia, Libya and Algeria, a rights group said on Wednesday.
Tunisia began a massive deportation operation last Wednesday following the eruption of clashes between locals and migrants in the southern city of Sfax.
Locals demanded the expulsion of the migrants from the city amid a rise in racially motivated attacks and anti-migrant rhetoric.
A Tunisian man was fatally stabbed last Monday during the violent clashes.
“We are receiving several messages and calls from people who were deported to border areas with both Algeria and Libya,” Hiba, a member of The Alarm Phone organisation, an NGO that helps bring attention to migrants in distress, told The National. She did not wish to reveal her full name.
“These people do not have access to food, water or protection from the elements and as we keep losing contact with many of them, we no longer know if some groups are still alive or not.”
The Alarm Phone said that it has notified both Tunisian authorities and the UN's affiliated refugees and migration bodies, however it has received no response.
“We are losing hope, to be honest,” Hiba said.
She also highlighted how many of the deported include refugees and UN refugee agency-accredited asylum seekers.
“It is their responsibility to intervene as well, but we have not even seen a public statement yet.”
The Alarm Phone and other humanitarian organisations are demanding authorities find a solution to the continuing crisis and to prevent casualties.
“One person who was deported after sustaining an injury is believed to have died, according to other individuals accompanying the deceased,” Hiba said.
The National was able to get in touch with one person from the same group Hiba referred to and they remain stuck in a deserted area on the Tunisian-Libyan borders.
“Please, we need help. We do not have food or water and our phones' batteries are dying … We just want to leave here,” Kalvin from Nigeria told The National via WhatsApp.
Kalvin also said that one person in their group had died due to injuries sustained at the hands of security forces.
“The guy was beaten to death by Tunisian authorities,” he said. He added that the body has not been claimed and is decomposing at the site, with other migrants nearby.
Deportations row
“A delegation [of the Tunisian Red Crescent] will visit the place where these displaced migrants are,” Tunisian President Kais Saied told the organisation’s president, Abdel Latif Chabbou, in a meeting at the Carthage Palace on Saturday.
Mr Saied denied accusations that Tunisia had infringed on the human rights of the migrants through its deportation policy.
“Tunisia can give lessons in humanity to all those placing their bids on it from abroad,” Mr Saied said.
Human Rights Watch urged Tunisian authorities to halt the collective deportation of migrants and asylum seekers, and to enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those stranded in the desert.
“Not only is it unconscionable to abuse people and abandon them in the desert, but collective expulsions violate international law,” Human Rights Watch said in a press release last Thursday.
“African migrants and asylum seekers, including children, are desperate to get out of the dangerous border zone and find food, medical care and safety.”
Tunisian authorities transferred some of those who were stranded to shelters in the border city of Ben Guerdene as a temporary solution.
The Tunisian Red Crescent was given limited access to the militarised zone between Tunisia and Libya, where some of the deportees are waiting for either Tunisia or Libya to allow them entry.
Humanitarian organisations have reported that they are unable to locate other expelled migrants who decided to cross the desert.
Racial tension rises
A rise in persecution of migrants has been reported in Tunisia since February following a statement from Mr Saied in which he rejected what he described as “the settlement of migrants in Tunisia”.
He added that there was a plan “to alter its [Tunisia's] demographic structure”, alluding to a conspiracy theory that alleges foreign countries want sub-Saharan Africans to replace Arabs in the country.
Since then, many black people, including Tunisian citizens, have become the target of racist attacks.
Economic migrants, refugees and asylum seekers alike have reported being evicted from their homes, fired from their jobs or violently attacked due to their skin colour.
One migrant was killed in February in Sfax amid rioting.
The growing tension comes as Tunis faces growing pressure from the EU to increase its border control measures and prevent hundreds of boats from attempting to cross to Europe every day, following recent back-to-back visits from European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in June.
Tunisia is expected to sign another agreement between the two sides, which includes further migration-related terms, in the coming days.
However, a date has yet to be set after Tunisian authorities requested an extension to review some of the deal’s clauses.
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
LOVE%20AGAIN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jim%20Strouse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Priyanka%20Chopra%20Jonas%2C%20Sam%20Heughan%2C%20Celine%20Dion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More coverage from the Future Forum
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
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The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
if you go
if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zayed Sustainability Prize
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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