Tunisia - (AFP) - The Tunisian authorities confirmed on Wednesday that they intend to return a four-year-old girl who arrived in Italy about two weeks ago in an illegal immigration process on a boat without her parents.

The family consisting of the father, mother, and a seven-year-old son, in addition to the girl, was supposed to participate in the migration journey that started from the coastal “Sayada” region in the east of the country, but “the father handed the girl over to one of the smugglers on board the boat and returned to help his wife and son, but the boat set off.” He arrived on the island of Lampedusa," according to what the "Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights," the organization that follows up the immigration file in Tunisia, told AFP.

The Ministry of the Family said in a statement on Wednesday that the Tunisian state "is keen to ensure the best interest of this child and to complete the necessary measures to secure her return to the homeland in safe conditions and as soon as possible."

On Friday, a Tunisian diplomatic mission will meet with the Italian family judge in charge of the case, according to the ministry.

The official spokesman for the Monastir court, Farid Ben Jahha, confirmed to AFP on Thursday that the judiciary had released the parents after they were detained last week, and had arrested the owner of the boat that transported the migrants.

The girl's parents work as street vendors on the Tunisian coast and paid 24,000 dinars (about 7,500 euros) to the smuggler in return for participating in the crossing, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Forum statistics show that from the beginning of this year until last August, 2,635 minors, including 1,832 without family accompaniment, managed to reach the Italian coast.

In recent days, 1,366 smugglers, including Tunisians and foreigners, have been arrested, according to the Interior Ministry.

The Tunisian authorities are finding it difficult to intercept or rescue migrants due to a lack of equipment.

With the improvement of weather conditions, irregular migration attempts are increasing from the Tunisian and Libyan coasts towards Italy, sometimes ending in drowning incidents.

Tunisia is experiencing an acute political and economic crisis, as poverty increases among its population of about 12 million.

The latest official figures reveal that more than 22,500 migrants have been intercepted off the Tunisian coast since the beginning of this year, including about 11,000 from sub-Saharan African countries.

In early September, 12 Tunisians died when their boat sank off the eastern coast of the country.

The security and military authorities daily rescue and intercept dozens of immigrants trying to reach the European coasts in boats that are often rickety.