HRW Says 6 Killed in Tunisia Refugee Camp
Six migrants were killed in violence last month in a camp in Tunisia for some of the thousands of people who have fled the conflict in Libya, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
It urged Tunisian authorities to do more to protect the more than 3,000 foreign nationals in the Choucha camp, saying people from sub-Sahara were the most vulnerable and citing claims that Tunisian forces were involved.
"Several violent incidents in May 2011 left at least six migrants in the camp dead, and parts of the camp destroyed by fire," the rights watchdog said in a statement.
"The Tunisian military, which provides security at the camp, failed to prevent the violence, and may have taken part in some attacks on camp residents," it said.
The most violent incident was on May 24 and involved a fight between camp residents and Tunisians from a nearby town, it said.
Migrants had blocked a key cross border trade route as part of a protest to demand resettlement in Western countries instead of being returned home.
Scores of locals, some wielding irons bars, arrived to force open the road, clashing with camp residents armed with rocks and tent stakes.
Some witnesses reported that soldiers opened fire or stood by as townspeople looted and set tents on fire.
A Tunisian army colonel said two camp residents were beaten to death, apparently by Tunisian civilians, the rights group said. A relative said they were shot.
On May 22 four Eritreans were killed when roughly two dozen tents caught fire in circumstances that many Eritreans found suspicious and may have been linked to a dispute between migrants, it added.
Its statement contained allegations of beatings and a shooting by Tunisia soldiers.
Nationals of 27 countries were in the camp, most of them from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, the rights group said.
"Tunisia rightly opened its borders to people fleeing the fighting in Libya, both Libyans and non-Libyan refugees and migrants," deputy director Joe Stork said.
"But more needs to be done now to ensure that these people are not subject to harassment or violence in what should be a safe haven."
Source: Agence France Presse
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