TUNIS, 22 August, 2026 (Ghufran): At least 13 Tunisians are missing after a migrant boat sank off the Tunisian coast while travelling towards Italy, while two people were rescued, according to the head of a migrant rights group. Mostafa Abdelkebir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, said the boat had departed early Thursday.One of the two survivors told rescuers aboard a local boat that they had remained stranded at sea for several hours after their vessel capsized. The second survivor was in critical condition, Abdelkebir said. Tunisia was previously a major departure point for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, but departures have declined sharply over the past two years amid a crackdown and tighter maritime controls, supported by European funding and modern border-monitoring equipment, particularly from Italy.Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and dozens of other human rights and humanitarian organisations said last month that the EU-Tunisia migration agreement had contributed to and normalised serious abuses against migrants and asylum seekers in Tunisia.The groups called on the European Union to suspend funding for migration and border-control activities involving Tunisian security forces.Tunisia has not commented on the statement but has repeatedly said it is bearing the brunt of a major migration influx. President Kais Saied said in 2023 that the influx was aimed at changing the country’s demographic makeup. The central Mediterranean route remains one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. It is frequently used by migrants from Africa and the Middle East seeking to reach Europe, often travelling in overcrowded or unseaworthy boats.