Guinea and Ivory Coast repatriate nationals from Tunisia 

The governments of Guinea and Ivory Coast are repatriating their citizens from Tunisia following accusations and inflammatory remarks by the Tunisian president, Kais Saied.

Two weeks ago, President Saied accused sub-Saharan migrants of crime and also instructed Tunisian security forces to take urgent measures against illegal migrants from the region. He further alleged that illegal migration of sub-Saharan Africans is causing “demographic” changes in the country, therefore undocumented immigrants would not be allowed to stay. 

Following these accusations, dozens of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have since been detained. Also, many migrants lost their jobs and housing overnight, while some have been reported physically assaulted.

In that light, the Guinean and Ivorian governments issued a statement saying they would send specially chartered planes to bring back their nationals. 

However, the African Union has condemned President Saied’s statement and described it as “shocking”, and warned against “racialized hate speech”. Also, about 80 per cent of Tunisians believe that racial discrimination is a problem in their country.

Source: BBC