100 Tunisians try to enter Algeria as humanitarian refugees

Dozens of Tunisians tried on Thursday evening to cross the Algerian eastern borders, via Tebessa in the region of Akla Ahmed, Safsaf municipality.

Number of arrested exceeds 100 Tunisians of various ages, who are mostly families with their kids and women, and who told Echorouk in a phone conversation that their bad living conditions in Tunisia forced them to move to the Algerian borders, calling upon the Algerian authorities to allow them to enter Algeria asking for humanitarian asylum and to find job opportunities.

They asserted that there are no job opportunities in the Tunisian cities like Feriana, Guasrine, Guefsa, and finding a job in Tunisia becomes impossible, after the investment opportunities become impossible and due to the lack of tourism, especially in the internal cities.

A representative of the Tunisian refugees said in a tv show that a large community of Tunisians express concerns after tightening control on smugglers of both countries causing bad situation, because hope existed when Algerian smugglers provided some products for Tunisians through the borders, but since Algerian security services imposed a tight control on the area to protect the borders from any danger, especially from arms and drug trafficking, it becomes difficult to smuggle products, that were the basic income of most Tunisian families which live in the border regions.

In front of these repeated attempts by Tunisians both through Akla region, 130 km southern Tebessa, or through Aicha Oum Chaouicha region, and even via the northern borders near the Kouif municipality, where some families tries to sneak out through the check point of Ras Laayoune last week, but the Algerian security services took all the necessary measures to prevent any infiltration by Tunisians to the Algerian soil.