US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for unity in the Gulf region, as has kicked off his Middle East tour with a stop in Kuwait City for the third US-Kuwait strategic dialogue session.

Pompeo will seek to strengthen cooperation on defence, cybersecurity and trade, during his stop in Kuwait, his spokesperson Robert Palladino said.  

Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal said the US top diplomat would also focus on creating “a breakthrough in finding a resolution to the GCC crisis” describing Pompeo’s visit to Kuwait as “the most challenging part of his trip”.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt imposed an ongoing land, sea and air blockade on Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorists. Qatar has vehemently denied these claims.

“The fact that these countries are not seeing eye to eye is stifling any sort of plans or policies the US wants to implement in the region,” Elshayyal said.

US President Donald Trump has initially backed the blockade of Qatar, but “it has since transpired that that was not only detrimental to the US’ interests in the region but more so to the peoples’ interests here in the region and the stability of the GCC,” Elshayyal explained.

Kuwait has been at the forefront of trying to find a resolution to this crisis and mediate between the other Arab Gulf countries, which remains in deadlock.

Kuwait’s foreign minister said that a long-awaited US peace proposal for the Middle East should factor in regional considerations and all stakeholders.

“We hope the plan will take into account the situation in the region and all the relevant parties,” Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah told a joint press conference with Pompeo.

Pompeo took time to pose for photographs with US embassy personnel and their families and met with members of the US Chamber of Commerce, as well as with US and Kuwaiti business leaders.

He also met with recent Kuwaiti graduates of US universities and exchange programmes.

‘Iran threat’

On the flight from the United States, Pompeo told reporters that he would discuss “strategic dialogue” and the need to combat “the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran” with leaders in the region.

He will also push for a greater role for the Middle East Strategic Alliance, a US-sponsored Arab NATO aimed at uniting Washington’s Arab allies against Tehran.

After Kuwait Pompeo will fly to Israel where an election campaign is in its final weeks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu locked in a close battle with centrist rivals.

While Washington insists it is not interfering in Israeli politics, his visit is seen as a sign of support for Netanyahu, who is struggling to keep his grip on power as he faces allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust ahead of the April 9 polls.

After his stop in Israel, Pompeo will head to Lebanon, where he is expected to focus on Hezbollah’s role in the region. 

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that her foreign minister will travel to Turkey to “confront” comments made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Christchurch mosque shootings that killed 50 people.

Erdogan, while campaigning for March 31 local elections, said on Tuesday that Turkey would make the suspected attacker pay if New Zealand did not.

He presented the attack as part of an assault on Turkey and Islam and warned anti-Muslim Australians  would be “sent back in coffins” like their grandfathers at Gallipoli – a blood-drenched WWI battle.

More than 8,000 Australians died fighting Turkish forces at Gallipoli, which has a prominent place in Australia’s collective memory.

Erdogan’s comments included video footage of the shootings which the alleged gunman had broadcast on Facebook.

The Australian gunman, a self-avowed white supremacist from Australia, live streamed much of the attack and spread a manifesto on social media claiming it was an attack against Muslim “invaders”.

The manifesto referenced Turkey and the minarets of Istanbul’s famed Hagia Sophia, now a museum, that was once a church before becoming a mosque during the Ottoman empire.

Ardern said Foreign Minister Winston Peters would seek urgent clarification over the remarks during his visit.

“Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey,” Ardern told reporters in Christchurch. “He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face.”

Tough reaction from Australia 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday summoned the Turkish ambassador over Erdogan’s speech, but dismissed the “excuses” offered.

“Remarks have been made by the Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment,” Morrison said.

“I am expecting, and I have asked, for these comments to be clarified, to be withdrawn … I expect that to occur,” said Morrison, who also faces an election challenge in the coming weeks.

In fiery remarks, Morrison accused Erdogan of betraying the promise of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – the father of modern state and a revered figure in Turkey – to forge peace between the two countries.

Three Turkish nationals were wounded in the rampage that killed 50 worshippers at two mosques in the southern New Zealand city of Christchurch on Friday.

Medenine, Tunisia – Last Monday night, 16-year-old Nato* slit his wrists and was rushed to the local hospital in Medenine.

He had decided to end his life in a refugee facility run by the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, in Medenine. After running for two years, escaping Eritrea and near-certain conscription into the country’s army, making it through Sudan, Egypt and Libya, he had reached Tunisia and despair.

A few days later, Nato was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Sfax, 210km north of Medenine, where he was kept on lockdown and was frustrated that he wasn’t able to communicate with anyone in the facility.

Nato’s isn’t the only story of despair among refugees in Tunisia. A female refugee was taken to hospital after drinking bleach, while a 16-year-old unaccompanied young girl tried to escape over the borders to Libya, but was stopped at Ben Gardane.

“I’m not surprised by what has happened to Nato,” a 16-year-old at the UNHCR facility told Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity.

“They just keep us here without providing any support and after we… witnessed killings of our friends. We feel completely abandoned. We don’t feel secure and protected,” he said.

UNHCR’s facility in Medenine houses up to 35 unaccompanied migrant minors [Sara Creta/Al Jazeera]

The 30 to 35 unaccompanied minors living in UNHCR’s reception facility in Medenine share a room, spending their days remembering past images of violence and abuse.

“I cannot get out of my mind the picture of my friend dying after they pointed a gun at his temple. He was sitting next to me. Sometimes at night, I cannot sleep,” the 16-year-old said.

‘They’re trying to hide us here’

The UNHCR facility in Medenine struggles to offer essential services to a growing number of arrivals.

According to the information given to Al Jazeera, the asylum seekers and refugees have not received medical screenings or access to psychosocial support, nor were they informed clearly of their rights in Tunisia.

“We feel they are trying to hide us here,” said Amin*. “How can we say we are safe if UNHCR is not protecting our basic rights? If we are here left without options, we will try to cross the sea.”

Amin, 19, has no vision of what his life will be. He would like to continue his education or learn a new language but, since his arrival, he has only promises and hopes, no plans.

The young people here find themselves having to take care of themselves and navigate the questions of what their future will be like, at times without even being able to reach out to their families back home for comfort. 

“My parents are in Eritrea and since more than a year, I was able to speak with them only for three minutes,” said Senait*, a 15-year-old boy from Eritrea.

UNHCR remains responsible for refugee status determination and registration [Sara Creta/Al Jazeera]

Aaron*, a 16-year-old boy, who has been on the road for three years and three months, has not been able to call his relatives at all since his arrival in Tunisia.

“Last time I have contacted them was in 2016 while I was in Sudan. I miss them so much”, he said.

Last week, many of them participated in a peaceful demonstration, demanding medical care, support from the UNHCR and resettlement to third countries.

Refugee lives in suspension

Nato, as well as a number of refugee minors Al Jazeera spoke to, arrived in Tunisia over the Libyan border with the help of smugglers. The same is true for hundreds of refugees escaping Libya. 

Tunisia registered more than 1,000 refugees and 350 asylum-seekers, mainly from Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia.

But the country has neither the capacity nor the means to host refugees, and because it doesn’t have a coherent asylum system, the refugees find themselves living a largely suspended life.

Tunisia has registered more than 1,000 refugees and 350 asylum-seekers [Sara Creta/Al Jazeera]

Officially, refugees are not allowed to work and, therefore, there is no formal system of protection for those that do work.

Awate*, a 24-year-old man from Eritrea, had been working for nine days in a hotel in the seaside city of Zarzis when he was detained and brought to a police station where he was interrogated for 30 minutes.

“They told me ‘why are you going to work without passport?’,” he said, adding that he has not worked since.

The UNHCR in Tunisia is pushing alternatives, which include enhancing refugees’ self-reliance and livelihood opportunities.

A month ago, a group of 32 people moved out of the reception centre with an offer of a monthly payment of 350 Tunisian dinars ($116) and help to find private accommodations. Among them, nine decided to go to the capital, Tunis. The plan is confirmed for three months, with no clarity on what happens next.

Aklilu*, a 36-year-old former child soldier from Eritrea who took up the offer, is now renting a small apartment on the main road to Djerba for 250 Tunisian dinars ($83).

“Why should I be forced to settle in a country that’s not ready to host refugees?” he said. “They are thinking of Tunisia as the final destination but there are no conditions for it. The UNHCR is not making any effort to integrate us. We don’t get any language courses or technical training.” 

Tunisia lacks a coherent asylum system [Sara Creta/Al Jazeera]

* Names have been changed to protect the individuals’ privacy.