Tunisians protest in Sfax against illegal migrants

Tunisians held Sunday demonstrations against the presence of illegal sub-Saharan migrants, in Sfax, southeast of the capital Tunis.

Sfax, the second largest city in Tunisia, is the starting point for illegal crossings by sea to Europe.

The organizer of the demonstration, Zied Mallouli said: "Today, we organized this demonstration spontaneously due to the tense situation in neighbourhoods and criminal activities, some of which involved the use of machetes. We are all calling for an immediate halt to the arrival of illegal migrants. We did not have problems with them before, but today the problem arises because it threatens peace and security in the neighborhoods."

He added: "Everyone was calling for a demonstration. So, we wanted to organise it as a civil society away from any racism or hate speech. We wanted to say in a clear voice: the law must be enforced, visas should be re-imposed, borders should be controlled, and medical examinations on all migrants entering the country."