Several migrants from Algeria died after the ship they were traveling in sank off the coast of Spain on Monday, the UN Migration Agency’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Carmela Godeau said. “We are disheartened by media reports that a ship carrying Algerian migrants capsized today off Spain. Several migrants – incl (sic) children – have been confirmed dead while others still missing,” Godeau tweeted. It is not clear what caused the ship to capsize though several of them are regularly overloaded, sail in treacherous conditions and are poorly maintained. The vast North African country has a 2,500-kilometre border with Mali and Niger which results in an influx of illegal migrants from the Sahel region fleeing war, insecurity or poverty.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 30, 2021 12:45 UTC