TUNIS: Tunisia's Maritime Guard rescued nearly 1,200 irregular migrants off the country's eastern coast in the past 48 hours, Tunisian National Guard announced.

The rescue operations took place during the two nights of Monday to Tuesday and Tuesday to Wednesday, after having foiled 49 attempts of illegal migration, Tunisian National Guard's spokesman Houcemeddine Jbabli said in a statement on Wednesday.

The groups of irregular migrants, including 215 Tunisians and 977 of foreign nationalities, were rescued while sailing to Italy, the statement added.

Located at the northern tip of Africa, Tunisia is one of the most popular transit points for illegal migration to Europe, Xinhua news agency reported.

Although Tunisian authorities have adopted rigorous measures to tackle the problem, illegal migration attempts from Tunisia to Italy show no signs of abating.

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