Outrage in Tunisia over Italy's new border security deployment

A political storm is brewing in North Africa after Italy’s parliament approved a plan to deploy security personnel to Tunisia. The decision, aimed at curbing irregular migration, has ignited a fierce debate over national sovereignty and foreign military presence.

The Italian Chamber of Deputies greenlit the deployment of 22 members of the Guardia di Finanza—one of Italy’s primary law enforcement agencies—alongside land equipment and vehicles. Officially, the maritime support and training mission is designed to provide "assistance, support, qualification, and training" to the Tunisian maritime guard to better monitor borders and disrupt human smuggling, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

However, the move has faced immediate pushback from Tunisian political figures and human rights advocates, who view the unilateral decision as an aggressive overreach.

"The matter is no longer just technical bilateral cooperation, but a clear expansion of a European security logic inside Tunisia’s sovereign space," warned former Tunisian lawmaker Majdi Karbai. He argued that European Mediterranean policies have fundamentally shifted from equal partnership to outsourcing border security, effectively turning transit nations like Tunisia into field zones for EU migration enforcement.

Further fueling the backlash is a perceived lack of transparency. The deployment stems from a controversial memorandum of understanding signed between Italy and Tunisia in July 2023, backed by a €127 million EU aid package. Critics note that the full text of the agreement has never been disclosed to the Tunisian public.

Mustafa Abdel Kabir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights, voiced deep concern over the joint operations. "We reject guarding their borders from our borders," Abdel Kabir said, stating flatly that his organization completely opposes any foreign forces in Tunisian territory or territorial waters under any circumstances.

Despite the growing domestic uproar, the Tunisian government has maintained an official silence on the Italian parliament's decision.

Supporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied have downplayed the legal weight of Italy's move. Mahmoud Ben Mabrouk, secretary-general of the pro-Saied Al-Massar party, insisted that a unilateral vote in Rome holds no jurisdiction across the Mediterranean.

"The Italian parliament cannot approve matters inside Tunisian territory. We reject this, and it has no legal dimension," Ben Mabrouk said, adding that any actual deployment would violate international norms without explicit prior approval from the Tunisian parliament and Foreign Ministry.

The security friction comes at a high-stakes moment for the region. While exact numbers are difficult to verify, Tunisian officials previously reported that upwards of 20,000 migrants were concentrated in key coastal transit zones alone, keeping Tunisia at the center of Europe's border security focus.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada