Senegal navy captures vessels carrying 600 prospective migrants
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| Photo credit: AFP |
The navy of Senegal claims to have seized four vessels over the course of three days, each carrying more than 600 passengers.
They were trying the perilous voyage to the Canary Islands in Spain, which serve as a gateway to Europe.
On Saturday, video posted to social media showed other would-be migrants jumping off a boat that had grounded in the seaside city of St Louis, Senegal.
According to witnesses, they had to retreat due to wind and a desire to avoid being apprehended by the navy, whose patrols have increased, the BBC reported.
"We were at the beach chilling when suddenly we saw a pirogue [wooden style boat] arriving with migrants on board. When they got closer to the shore, they were frantically jumping into the water," a 19-year old Saint Louis resident told the Reuters news agency.
"We all rushed to witness this although here, it's common."
The administration unveiled a 10-year strategy to tackle irregular migration at the end of July, which included improved border management.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the UN estimates that since the beginning of 2023, at least 140 migrants who attempted the Atlantic journey have perished or vanished.
According to the news website InfoMigrants, more than 2,690 migrants from Senegal and Morocco reached the Canary Islands in August alone.
It stated that this was more than twice as many arrivals as there were in the same month previous year.
According to the BBC, the brother of a Senegalese man who perished after the boat he was traveling on drifted at sea for more than a month said he would still undertake the journey himself despite the risks because it was impossible to make a life in Senegal.
The navy of the country of West Africa published images on X, formerly known as Twitter, containing information about people it intercepted:
Thursday 28 September: A pirogue was found with 71 people on board, including 13 children
Friday 29 September: In co-ordination with the air force, two pirogues were spotted with 272 passengers, including seven children, about 100km (62 miles) off the coast of the capital, Dakar,
Saturday 30 September: Two pirogues found carrying 262 people, including 13 children.
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