Tunisia facing unprecedented migration crisis as bodies wash ashore

FILE PHOTO: A view shows boats that were used by migrants and seized by Tunisian coast guards, in Sfax, Tunisia April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui

SFAX, Tunisia (Reuters) - Bodies of drowned migrants wash up most days on Tunisian beaches, lie unclaimed in hospital corridors and fill morgues, evidence of a surge in people seeking to cross the Mediterranean that has been accelerated by a government crackdown.

Coastguard patrols return to the port of Sfax crammed with migrants stopped at sea in flimsy, overcrowded boats from making the perilous voyage to what they hope will be a better life in Europe.