16,292 irregular Tunisian immigrants, including 3,430 minors, have arrived to Italy since the beginning of the current year and up to Wednesday, according to the latest updates on irregular immigration published by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES).

The year 2022 recorded the highest number of Tunisians reaching the Italian coasts through irregular immigration, compared to the four previous years (16,292 migrants against 14,342 in 2021 and 1,112 in 2020), the same source said.

The number of Tunisian minors who arrived to the Italian coasts in 2021 and 2020 stood at 2,492 and 1,607, respectively.

The number of victims and missing persons of various nationalities has risen to 544 people since the beginning of the year until last September, the FTDES indicated.

The forum underlined that the Tunisian authorities have managed to prevent 29,129 irregular immigrants from leaving the Tunisian coasts towards Italy since the beginning of the year.