By Biran Gaye
Scores of African migrants and refugees have staged a protest against alleged inhumane treatment of individuals in the olive groves of Sfax and El Amra in Tunisia.
On Monday, May 12, migrants enduring harsh treatment took a courageous stand, uniting in protest to demand change and raise their voices against the injustices they face, says Refugees In Libya.
Since early April 2025, Tunisian police and security forces have initiated a systematic and violent campaign against refugees and migrants living in makeshift camps in Sfax, Jebeniana, and El Amra. These camps, which shelter over 30,000 individuals primarily from Sudan, Mali, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and other countries affected by conflict and crisis, have been home to many of these individuals for more than a year.
In a footage shared by the organization, dozens of migrants were seen carrying placards with slogans such as “Tunisia, stop selling blacks to Libya,” “Stop deporting us to the desert to die or rot,” and “Migrants’ lives matter,” among others. Many were chanting demands for humanitarian aid and an end to their suffering.Before the eviction efforts began, according to migrant organisations, residents found themselves confronted with two devastating choices: they could either register with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) or accept deportation back to their home countries, or risk being forcibly expelled to Libya or Algeria.
This situation stripped them of genuine options, presenting a heartbreaking trap framed in bureaucratic language. It reported that those who bravely resisted faced brutal consequences, with camps violently raided and set on fire and individuals forcibly taken from their homes, enduring beatings and having their precious belongings destroyed or seized.
“Many were left abandoned in the harsh desert, pushed toward borders, or cruelly returned to the very fields that had once provided them with a semblance of safety. It’s a harrowing reality that reflects the immense struggles they faced,” the organisation lamented.
A recently published report stated that Tunisian authorities had engaged in “dangerous maneuvers when intercepting migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers at sea.” The report also mentioned episodes of physical violence, including beatings, threats of use of firearms, the removal of engines and fuel and the capsizing of boats.
In Tunisia, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, including children and pregnant women, are allegedly brought to the desert areas bordering Algeria and Libya, and fired at by border guards if they attempt to return.
