Senegal Says It Intercepted More Than 1,500 Migrants Heading To The Canary Islands In A Week

Senegal’s Navy says it intercepted in a week more than 1,500 migrants who were trying to reach the Canary Islands amid a surge in departures.

The Navy of Senegal says it has detained at sea more than 1,500 migrants traveling on various vessels during the last week, when they were allegedly trying to reach the Canary Islands, a destination where arrivals have surged in recent weeks.

In an official statement, the military institution detailed that only this Tuesday two Senegalese Navy ships assisted 817 people, who are added to those already rescued in previous days thanks to “the combined action of the naval units and the land units deployed in the coastal areas”.

In this context, the Navy stressed that “its surveillance and intervention operations at sea are part of its missions to safeguard human lives at sea and the protection of people”.

These figures are being released after almost 40 people lost their lives last weekend in the wreck of a migrant boat in the north of the country. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that at least 454 people have died or gone missing while trying to reach Europe via the Atlantic route up to 26th October.

According to this UN agency, this figure “represents only a small part of the total”, since “many vessels disappear far from the coast, without survivors, without bodies being recovered, and without any explanation of what happened”.

Last week, the Spanish Minister for the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, travelled to Senegal to discuss with local authorities the increase in the arrival of cayucos to the Canary coasts in recent weeks, and announced aid of 500,000 euros intended for the Senegalese Navy in order to strengthen maritime cooperation and the fight against irregular immigration.

Democratia, Spain