Morocco’s navy successfully rescued close to 200 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa on Tuesday. The rescue operations took place in the waters off the country’s southern coast as well as Western Sahara, according to reports from state media.
With this latest group of migrants, the total number of sub-Saharan African migrants brought back to Morocco since August 8th has now reached at least 518, based on information from Moroccan military sources compiled by AFP.
The navy personnel discovered the group of 190 migrants, which included 11 women, in the waters between Tan-Tan and Dakhla, as stated by a military source to the state news agency MAP.
Located just about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Morocco, Spain’s Canary Islands are situated west of Tan-Tan and northeast of Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara region. Recent weeks have seen a significant increase in activity on the Canary migratory route.
Moroccan authorities reported stopping 26,000 attempts at irregular migration in the first five months of 2023. During the first half of the year, Spanish interior ministry figures indicate that 7,213 migrants arrived at the Canary Islands by boat.
In mid-July, a tragic incident occurred when a boat sank off Morocco, resulting in the deaths of at least 13 Senegalese migrants, as confirmed by authorities in Senegal.