The number of migrants boarding rickety boats from West
Africa and reaching Spain's Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean
has risen seven-fold so far this year from the same period of
2023, Spanish Interior Ministry data shows.
Mauritania has recently become a major point of departure
for migrants headed to Europe, sending eight out of 10 of the
dinghies that reached the archipelago in January, Spanish
officials say.
The Moroccan navy rescued 16,818 people at sea in 2023, up
35% compared to a year earlier, according to official figures.
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