News Center- Tunisia has become the primary departure point for migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, making it a key transit hub for those undertaking this journey where many lives have been lost.

The Tunisian coast guards recovered the bodies of five African women migrants and a baby in water off Tunisia's eastern city of Monastir, Farid Ben Jha, Spokesperson for the Monastir public prosecutor's office, said on Thursday, adding analysis showed they had drowned about a week earlier.

 An investigation has been launched to determine whether they had died in a “migration or human trafficking operation”, the spokesperson said.

1,313 migrants were reported to have died or went missing off the Tunisian coast last year, according to the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (French: Forum Tunisien pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux,  FTDES).

Since the beginning of 2024, at least 103 makeshift boats have capsized and 341 bodies, including of 336 foreigners, have been recovered off Tunisia's coast, according to the Tunisian Ministry of the Interior.

21,545 people were intercepted between January 1 and April 30, compared with 17,576 over the same period last year, said a statement released by the Tunisian National Guard in May 2024.