In a meeting with Tunisia’s National Security Council on February 21, President Kais Saied declared that “a criminal plan has been set up since the beginning of this century to alter the demographic structure of Tunisia”.
Civil rights groups and activists said the statement was dangerous and warned that it could encourage hate crimes against the sub-Saharan African minority, who already face tough conditions.
The President's comments coincided with an unprecedented crackdown targeting hundreds of sub-Saharan Africans. Lawyers Without Borders estimated that about 300 people were detained and placed in a migrant detention centre, in just one wave of arrests.
Tunisia's Ministry of Interior said officers were only applying the law and the migrants being detained were in the country illegally.
In this week’s Beyond the Headlines, host Ghaya Ben Mbarek looks at the plight of migrants and black people in an increasingly unwelcoming Tunisia.
