Tunisian President Kais Saied said refugees were receiving humane treatment stemming from what he called ‘our values’.
Tunisia’s president has rejected criticism of his government’s treatment of Black African refugees after hundreds were rounded up by authorities and left on the border with Libya.
President Kais Saied said on Sunday the refugees were receiving humane treatment stemming from what he called “our values”.
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Refugees, however, say they have been left to tackle the desert heat with little food or water.
Tunisia, which is a major migration route to Europe, has come under criticism from rights groups after authorities rounded up refugees and asylum seekers and expelled them to a remote buffer zone at Tunisia’s border with Libya.
“These migrants are receiving humane treatment emanating from our values and traits, contrary to what colonial circles and their agents are circulating,” the Tunisian presidency said in a statement.
It accused unnamed foreign powers of seeking a “new type of settlement” for refugees and spreading lies about Tunisia.
‘Give them help’
The remarks came after a meeting on Saturday between Saied and Prime Minister Najla Bouden that the president’s office said addressed “irregular migration”.
The statement cited Saied as saying Tunisian security forces had protected the foreigners who wanted to settle in the country. “Tunisia is not a furnished apartment for sale or rent,” he was quoted as saying.
Libya, meanwhile, told Tunisia it wants the refugees moved from the border area.
