The Senegalese navy said Saturday that it had boarded two canoes carrying 272 passengers the day before, the latest in a series of interceptions of refugee boats trying to reach Europe.
Among the passengers stopped by a Navy patrol boat on Friday 100 km off the coast of Dakar in the Atlantic were 16 women and 7 children, she said on social networks. They were returned to the port of Dakar.
Another ship intercepted a canoe carrying 71 migrants on Thursday.
1,693 migrants arrested since July 1st
The Senegalese navy has expanded its boardings, rescue operations and treatment of illegal migrants in recent weeks. It has thus stopped the journey of 1,693 migrants since July 1, according to its information on social networks. Many of the passengers in these canoes are Senegalese, but there are other nationalities too.
Thousands of Africans hoping for a better life attempt to cross the Atlantic to Europe every year, despite the dangerous nature of the journey along the coasts.
They travel aboard simple boats or motorized canoes provided by smugglers who pay for the trip. Many end up in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago and gateway to Europe.
A dangerous crossing
According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, 11,439 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands between January 1 and August 31, 7.5% more than in the same period in 2022. This is the highest figure for this time of year since at least 2018 and is highly likely since 2006.
According to the European, the Senegalese represent the second largest nationality of migrants who crossed the Atlantic between January and July 2023 (21% of the total), behind Moroccans (29%) and ahead of Ivorians (12%) and Guineans (10%). Coastal and border protection agency Frontex.
According to the International Organization for Migration, 140 migrants have died or disappeared on this crossing since the beginning of September.
The Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which, unlike the IOM, relies on emergency calls with illegal immigrants at sea or their relatives, spoke of 778 deaths or disappearances in the first half of the year.
Around sixty Senegalese are believed to have died after setting sail in July aboard a canoe that was spotted and rescued off the coast of Cape Verde on August 14.