Tunisia's Saied denies racism but repeats view that migration is a plot

FILE PHOTO: Rescuers help a migrant to disembark from a Spanish coast guard vessel in the port of Arguineguin, in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, February 12, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo

TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian president on Thursday repeated his assertion that an increase of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa was part of a conspiracy to change Tunisia's demographics and denied criticism by rights groups that his views were racist.

President Kais Saied on Tuesday ordered security forces to halt all illegal immigration into Tunisia and said any undocumented migrants must leave, comments that prompted some strong criticism.