Mauritania’s Coast Guard Rescues 260 Migrants Off Atlantic Coast
Mauritania’s Coast Guard has rescued 260 migrants, including 17 children and 61 women, from two boats off its Atlantic coast.
The boats had reportedly left The Gambia about seven days before the rescue. Those on board said they had run out of food and were also facing fuel and navigation problems.
The rescued migrants included 132 Senegalese, 120 Gambians, and others from West Africa.
The incident highlights the continuing dangers of the sea route to Spain’s Canary Islands, which are part of the European Union. Thousands of migrants, mostly young people, continue to risk their lives each year on the dangerous crossing.
Many of them are fleeing poverty and travel in overcrowded, often unsafe boats as European countries have increasingly tightened border controls and restricted access to visas and asylum.
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