The Moroccan navy intercepted between Saturday and Tuesday, July 12, 257 migrants found "
aboard makeshift boats, kayaks and even swimming
" in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic, according to a military source quoted by the MAP agency. .
“
Royal Navy coastguards, on maritime patrol in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, rescued, from 9 to 12 July, 257 candidates for irregular migration, having attempted a perilous crossing aboard boats of fortune, kayaks and even swimming
,” said the same source.
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Delivered “safe and sound”
Among these migrants are a majority of Africans - including women and children - as well as an Afghan and a Yemeni.
They were brought "
safe and sound
" ashore after receiving the necessary care, the military source added.
These rescue operations come two weeks after the attempted forced passage of nearly 2,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Melilla on June 24.
This migratory drama killed 23 illegal immigrants, mostly of Sudanese origin, according to the Moroccan authorities, at least 37, according to some NGOs.
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This human toll is the heaviest recorded to date at the borders between Morocco and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, the only borders of the European Union on the African continent.
More than 40,000 migrants, mostly from Morocco, arrived in Spain in 2021 by sea, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry.
Over the first five months of 2022, arrivals increased by 12% compared to 2021 but the recent normalization of diplomatic relations with Morocco has led to a decrease in recent weeks.