By Biran Gaye
At least 4 West African migrants were attacked with live ammunition by a mob of Tunisians while they searched for portable water in Sfax, Tunisia, according to a humanitarian organisation.
Refugees in Libya say 3 young men from Sierra Leone and 1 from Liberia were attacked with live bullets by Tunisia citizens.
“Migrants run the risk of brutal attacks by local gangs armed with machetes,” the organisation warns.
The migrants went in search of water because they don’t have clean water to drink in the olive trees of Sfax.
The moment they started fetching water, the organisation says, the Tunisia thugs came around and started shooting.
In a footage shared by refugees in Libya, the migrants can be seen lying on beds as they receive medical service from volunteers.
All of them survived but with severe injuries and bullets beneath their backs as seen in a video shared by the organisation.
“The migrant doctor regularly treats very challenging injuries that would normally be attended to by plastic or orthopaedic surgeons,” it says.
Meanwhile, these makeshift camps are increasingly filled with migrants who endure critical sanitary and humanitarian conditions.
According to migrants’ testimonies, these camps lack basic necessities such as running water, washing facilities, and toilets. Migrants are forced to live in filthy olive groves where local residents have begun dumping the contents of their septic tanks, leading to severe health risks. Women are forced to give birth in dangerous conditions, with babies often born with respiratory problems or soon developing them due to the dusty, unsanitary environment. Newborns are especially vulnerable, with no access to vaccines, clean water, or proper nutrition.
It calls for medical relief equipment to treat over 5000 migrants and to rescue a deadly situation in migrants’ camps in Sfax, Tunisia.
