POLICE in Tunisia’s capital have forcefully removed homeless sub-Saharan Africans who had been camping outside UN buildings in Tunis for several weeks.
Many black Africans have been seeking repatriation after recent remarks by President Kais Saied unleashed a wave of violence against them.
He denies inciting hatred by saying they were part of a conspiracy to change the demographic composition of the North African country, which has a predominantly Arab-Muslim culture.
What followed was a crackdown on migrants with many subjected to detentions, abuse and evictions from their houses.
Journalists have been tweeting from the scene of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) office, saying a camp where migrants had gathered has been completely destroyed.
“Police have arrested many people, and having spoken to one migrant, he says he cannot find his wife and child now,” tweeted freelance journalist Elizia Volkmann, adding that many of them were registered refugees.
“Lawyers are investigating where those arrested have been taken,” she said.
Teargas was reportedly fired and batons used to remove people.
“Devastation here. The camp’s destroyed, with people’s goods being taken away as rubbish,” another freelance journalist Simon Cordall tweeted.
It is not clear how many people were camped outside the UNHCR.
Ivory Coast, Guinea and Burkina Faso are among countries which have organised the repatriation of their citizens over the last month in the wake of the race row.
