Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed yesterday dismissed Interior Minister Lotfi Brahem from his position and appointed Minister of Justice Ghazi Al-Jeribi to act as interior minister on his behalf.

The decision came in a brief statement four days after a boat carrying illegal migrants sank off the Tunisian coast killing 66 persons.

Brahem was appointed interior minister last September, as the predecessor of Hedi Majdoub.

Ten security officials were also sacked following the sinking of a migrant boat at dawn yesterday.

According to a statement issued by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on Monday, 180 illegal immigrants tried on Saturday night to cross the Mediterranean to enter Europe. Their boat capsized and over 60 people drowned.

The island of Kerkennah has become a popular stop from which migrants are boarding boats in an effort to get to the Italian island of Sicily.

IMO: 60 dead, 52 missing as migrant boat sinks off Tunisia coast