Morocco's Royal Navy detains 56 immigrants off its coast

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Aug 2023 00:20
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The news follows the detainment of around 189 immigrants and the death of 5 others.

Royal Moroccan Navy officers detain migrants in the water at the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on May 19, 2021. (AFP)

Morocco's Navy has detained at least 50 immigrants from several Sub-Saharan nations along its southwestern coast, according to Moroccan state media.

The state-run MAP news agency claimed that a naval vessel on patrol off the coast of Tantan assisted "56 would-be irregular migrants of sub-Sahran African origin abroad in a makeshift boat," adding that they were handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie for administrative procedures.

The immigrants were likely headed toward the Spanish Canary Islands, which are 150 kilometers off southern Morocco.

This follows another event in which the Morrocan navy said it recovered 5 bodies in its southern waters and claimed to rescue another 189 immigrants after their boat allegedly capsized.

The North African country has become a regular starting point for Africans seeking a better life in Europe, and its naval and police forces have become synonymous with their maltreatment of refugees, including cases of torture and death.

According to figures released by Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which helps migrant boats in distress, 778 people died while trying to reach the Canary Islands in the first half of 2023.

Moroccan authorities said they stopped 26,000 immigrant attempts in the first five months of the year.

After the collaboration between European states and North African countries increased patrols in the Mediterranean, immigrants started to seek the Atlantic crossing, risking their lives for a better future.

According to Spanish Interior Ministry figures, 7,213 immigrants reached the Canary Islands in the first six months of 2023.

Migrants left to die

On June 23, activists protested against Spain and Morocco for their inaction and slow response to aid migrants in distress off the coast of Morocco.

According to the Spanish campaign group Caminando Fronteras, which receives calls from migrants or their families about boats in distress, 37 people were declared missing after their boat sank on June 21.

Spanish rescue services announced the death of two people - a man and a child - and the rescue of 24 people 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the Canary Islands. Neither the Spanish rescue team nor Morocco confirmed the presence of any other passengers.

Caminando Fronteras' Helena Maleno claimed that Spanish rescue aircraft and a Moroccan navy vessel arrived 17 hours after the boat sent out a distress call.

She told broadcaster Canal Sur that the Spanish plane located the inflatable raft around 8 pm on Tuesday, and they decided it was Morocco's responsibility to intervene, but Morocco took hours before acting.

Malena further stated that "people were panicking on an inflatable raft, without having eaten, exhausted." A recording of the pilot who saw the boat was broadcast by Radio Cadena Ser and said that "around 50 people [were] on board." The Spanish rescue ship was an hour away from the boat.