«17,322 irregular migrants reached the Italian coasts in 2023, including more than 4,000 minors involved» the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) said at a press conference, held Tuesday in Tunis, to present its annual report on protests, irregular migration, suicide, suicide attempts and violence. Islam Gharbi, member of the Migration Department within the FTDES, underscored that the number of arrivals in 2023 on the Italian coasts via the Tunisian coasts recorded a slight decrease of 4.5% compared to 2022 (18,148 migrants), while the number of irregular migrants during the same year increased by 65% compared to 2022. She added that the number of dead and missing migrants on the Tunisian coasts increased in 2023 to reach 1,313 migrants of different nationalities, while the number of dead and missing migrants in the Mediterranean basin rose to 1,793. In 2023, Tunisian authorities thwarted over 6,000 attempts of irregular migration and arrested 80,000 irregular migrants on the Tunisian coa sts, 18% of them are Tunisian nationals, the same source said. According to the FTDES, 258 irregular Tunisian migrants reached the Italian coasts in January 2024, recording a decrease of nearly 25% compared to the same month of 2023. 26 attempts of irregular migration were foiled and 395 migrants were prevented from reaching the Italian shores from Tunisia in January 2024, the same source added. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse