Funeral workers carry the body of a migrant at the beach of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on 20 May 2021. Spain accused Morocco of “blackmail” on for allowing a record 8 000 migrants to reach the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, sparking a crisis that saw clashes on the Moroccan side of the border overnight. Photo: Antonio Sempere / AFP
Morocco says hundreds of migrants assisted off coast
Despite stepped-up controls, migrant departures from Morocco’s coasts have increased – the passengers received first aid aboard navy units
Funeral workers carry the body of a migrant at the beach of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on 20 May 2021. Spain accused Morocco of “blackmail” on for allowing a record 8 000 migrants to reach the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, sparking a crisis that saw clashes on the Moroccan side of the border overnight. Photo: Antonio Sempere / AFP
Moroccan coast guards have assisted more than 300 migrants in difficulty aboard various craft since Friday, the official MAP news agency reported on Monday.
Most of the 331 were from sub-Saharan Africa, the agency said, citing a military source.
INCREASED MIGRANTS DEPARTING MOROCCO
Despite stepped-up controls, migrant departures from Morocco’s coasts have increased lately.
Mainland Spain is only about 20 km (12 miles) from Morocco.
MOROCCO MIGRANTS SET TO REACH SPAIN ISLANDS
Further south along the Moroccan-controlled coast of disputed Western Sahara, the migrants’ goal is normally Spain’s Canary Islands.
The passengers received first aid aboard navy units “before being taken to the nearest ports, then handed over to the police for the usual administrative procedures,” the source quoted by MAP said.
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MIGRANTS DYING ON VOYAGE
On Monday, two migrants were found dead among about 40 on a drifting boat off Gran Canaria island, Spain’s coast guard told AFP.
On Friday, officials and relatives said four Moroccan migrants drowned in the Atlantic Ocean while trying to reach the European Union.
DEADLIEST DEPARTURES
Between January and October, a total of 32 713 migrants arrived in Spain by sea, an increase of more than 24% compared with the same period a year earlier, Spanish interior ministry figures showed.
By the end of September, there have been 1 025 deaths on the route to Spain, making this year the deadliest, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Other North African countries, Tunisia and Libya, are also major migrant departure points to Europe.
© Agence France-Presse
