Tunisia has dismantled large camps housing thousands of undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, according to police reports.
The camps, located in the eastern regions of El Amra and Jebeniana, were home to around 20,000 migrants, many of whom had set up tents in the fields.
National Guard spokesperson Houcem Eddine Jebabli stated that approximately 4,000 individuals from one of the cleared camps had left, and the authorities would continue their operations in the coming days.
Some of the migrants scattered into the countryside while health services attended to pregnant women and the sick.
The presence of the camps had sparked anger among residents, who raised concerns about the migrants occupying their olive groves.
Legal actions were taken by the locals in response to the situation. Jebabli explained that the authorities had a duty to address the disorder caused by the camps.
Tunisian President Kais Saied called on the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on March 25 to facilitate the voluntary return of irregular migrants to their countries of origin.
Tunisia has increasingly become a key transit point for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean in search of a better life in Europe.
