The official TAP news agency quoted an Interior Ministry statement Tuesday as saying the bodies, mostly males, were found by the coast guard on beaches of central and southern Tunisia — the closest points to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

More than 20,000 Tunisian migrants have fled home amid unrest since Tunisia’s autocratic leader was ousted Jan.

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A separate Interior Ministry statement Tuesday said 826 criminals and delinquents have been arrested in a six-day sweep of the country by security forces, some accused of pillaging, setting fires or throwing stones at police.