The images of the night of Monday, July 3, in Sfax that widely circulated on social media bear witness to rare violence between Tunisians and sub-Saharans. Stone-throwing, individuals masked with iron bars, tear-gas cartridges and burnt-down houses: A new level of violence has been reached in the central Tunisian town, which has been gripped by major tensions since last Sunday.
The latest outpouring of hatred was sparked by the stabbing of a Tunisian man by African migrants in the northern suburbs of the city. The news quickly spread via a video posted on Facebook by MP Tarek Mahdi at around 10 pm, showing a man lying unconscious on the ground, drenched in blood. He was surrounded by local residents who gradually gathered around the victim. The attackers are "Africans," said Mahdi, who blamed them for "being everywhere" and called for a reaction from the people of Sfax. "People need to get moving," he urged his audience.
The video garnered several thousand likes and was widely shared, often accompanied by calls for revenge. A few hours later, the news of the death of the young man who had been attacked as a result of his injuries further inflamed tempers. In the street, violence erupted in many Sfax neighborhoods: Tunisians attacked sub-Saharan Africans, and some sources reported that groups on motorcycles began a "hunt for Blacks." According to the Sfax public prosecutor's office, quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP), "three migrants suspected of involvement in the murder, who according to preliminary information are of Cameroonian nationality, have been arrested."
Platform for departure to Europe
Sfax, the country's port city and major economic hub, has long welcomed workers and students from the rest of the continent in search of a future. Since the beginning of the year, it has become a major departure platform for would-be exiles heading for Europe. In 2023, over 30,000 people have already reached the Italian island of Lampedusa from its shores.
This situation has heightened racism in the city. On May 28, another demonstration took place in front of the governorate headquarters to demand action from the authorities to curb the migratory phenomenon and expel sub-Saharan Africans from the country. Romdhane Ben Amor, the spokesman for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, warned that the situation was already heading for the worst. "Certain groups are taking advantage of the absence of the state to try to drive migrants from their homes, using force and all the violence that entails," he denounced, describing the situation as "dramatic."
"It's like reliving the dark days of late February 2023, only worse," said Franck Yotedje, director of the association Afrique Intelligence, which works for migrants' rights and social cohesion, in reference to the waves of violence suffered by migrants after Kais Saied's remarks. At the time, the Tunisian president had attributed to the "hordes of illegal migrants" an alleged plot "to change the composition of the demographic landscape in Tunisia." His words triggered several days of defiance – including manhunts and evictions – against the 21,000 sub-Saharans, most of whom are in the country illegally.