At least 13 Tunisians are missing and two others have been rescued after a migrant boat capsized off the Tunisian coast while heading for Italy, a human rights group reported on Saturday. The vessel departed in the early hours of Thursday, according to Mostafa Abdelkebir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors migration issues. One of the two survivors told rescuers aboard a local boat that both had been stranded at sea for hours after their vessel overturned. The second survivor was said to be in critical condition.

Tunisia, a North African country on the Mediterranean coast, was once one of the most significant departure points for migrants attempting to reach Europe — not only Tunisians, but people from across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, many travelling in overcrowded or unseaworthy vessels. Departures have fallen sharply over the past two years, however, following a sustained crackdown and tighter maritime controls backed by European funding and modern border-monitoring equipment supplied in large part by Italy. The central Mediterranean route nonetheless remains one of the world's deadliest migration corridors. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 35,000 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014, and the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights has estimated that around 10,000 Tunisians alone have disappeared at sea trying to reach Europe since 2011.

The incident has renewed scrutiny of the European Union's 2023 migration deal with Tunisia, under which the EU provides funding for Tunisia to carry out border control on its behalf. In July, 46 human rights and humanitarian organisations — including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — issued a joint statement condemning the arrangement, saying it had led to "reckless and violent interceptions at sea," collective expulsions, and the normalisation of serious human rights violations. The groups called on the EU to suspend funding for migration and border-control activities involving Tunisian security forces.

Tunisian authorities have not formally responded to that statement. The government has repeatedly maintained that Tunisia bears a disproportionate burden from migration flows passing through the country. President Kais Saied said in 2023 that the influx of migrants was part of an effort to alter Tunisia's demographic composition — a claim that drew sharp criticism from rights groups at the time. The latest capsizing underscores that, despite reduced crossings, the human cost of the central Mediterranean route continues to mount.