Tunisia dismantles encampments housing migrants stranded en route to Europe

     El Amra (Tunisia), Apr 10 (AP) Tunisian authorities this week dismantled dozens of makeshift camps housing African migrants as part of a sweeping operation to clear areas along the country's Mediterranean coastline and ease tensions with residents.
     The makeshift camps, located on privately owned land, have long been the site of violent altercations between migrants and Tunisians from nearby El Amra and Jebeniana, two towns located north of Sfax, Tunisia's second largest city.
     Brig Gen Hossam Eddine Jababli, spokesperson for Tunisia's national guard, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the sweeps intended to ensure “health and safety.” He said roughly 200 migrants who were detained hailed from sub-Saharan countries.
     Authorities also claimed to have seized caches of bladed weapons during the raids, and officials have since indicated that deportations may soon begin for those suspected of planning acts of violence.
     They have previously suggested more than 20,000 people were sheltering in the camps, which are near a part of the coastline located less than 161 kilometres from the Italian islands that form the European Union's outermost borders.
     Tunisian security forces have ramped up efforts to prevent migrants from reaching or crossing the sea — a journey that can be deadly. As of the end of February, 432 migrants arrived in Italy after embarking off Tunisia's coastline, according to the UN refugee agency. (AP) NPK
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)