Eighty people of sub-Saharan origin say they were expelled from Tunisiaafter being abandoned in the middle of the desert. This was reported by the Libyan Ministry of the Interior when reporting the rescue. The Libyan authorities reported that the rescue operation was carried out in collaboration with workers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), after denouncing that the Tunisian authorities had released them in the desert.

“Border Guard patrols rescued dozens of Illegal migrants fleeing Tunisian authorities towards the border areas of Libya”, the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement. In the note, Libya has also specified that the rescue of these people has been done in collaboration with the IOM, which has distributed food, clothing and temporary shelter to those affected until further action is taken.

In a video also released by the Libyan authorities, two Nigerian men claim to have been beaten by Tunisian soldiers and taken along with other people to a desert area, where they were told to cross into Libya, while another says they were removed and they burned the passports. These sources indicate that they spent two days in the desert before being found.

This event takes place just one day after the European Unionand Tunisia have signed an agreement whereby the North African country agrees to cooperate with Brussels on immigration in exchange for a financial aid package estimated at around 900 million euros.