The Moroccan navy intercepted more than fifty migrants from sub-Saharan Africa off the southern coast of Morocco on Tuesday, amid a growing number of deadly illegal crossing attempts to Spain, a Moroccan military source said. At least 13 Senegalese migrants perished in mid-July when their pirogue sank off the Moroccan coast, according to local Senegalese authorities. On July 25, the Moroccan Human Rights Association (AMDH) reported the death of five Moroccan migrants in a shipwreck off the coast of Western Sahara. A few days earlier, six Moroccan would-be emigrants had drowned while attempting to cross to Spain off the coast of Nador province (northern Morocco), according to local authorities and the AMDH. Located at the north-western tip of Africa, Morocco is a transit country for many migrants seeking to reach Europe from its Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 09, 2023 11:13 UTC