Dozens of migrants feared drowned off West African coast
Up to 47 people are feared dead after their boat’s engine failed en route from Western Sahara to the Canary Islands. The missing migrants include three children.
Mauritania
Canary Islands: Girl dies after 17 days drifting in migrant boat
A young girl has died during a rescue operation to save migrants trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands in a small boat. The boat, carrying 36 migrants, drifted for more than two weeks before it was found by a merchant tanker.
Corpse-laden boat found in Caribbean 'drifted from Africa'
The authorities of Trinidad and Tobago suspect that a boat carrying at least 14 corpses found in late May near the country's coasts had left from Mauritania with a group of migrants heading for the Canary Islands but was swept by strong currents to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Concern at EU's growing push to return rejected asylum seekers
Europe is increasing pressure on African countries to take back migrants in exchange for development aid. But the EU should instead be focusing on creating safe routes to seek protection, analysts have warned.
Migration on the Canary Islands: A convenient scapegoat for social problems (Part I)
On the Canary Islands, the new wave of migrant arrivals is becoming a real challenge for the archipelago's long-standing culture of hospitality. The islands have been hit hard by the economic crisis that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, and is now facing the biggest migrant influx since 2006.
Protests erupt in Gran Canaria, as migrant arrivals soar
Protestors on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria have rallied in support of better living conditions for the thousands of migrants who have reached the Canary Islands from Africa in recent weeks and months. The Spanish archipelago saw almost 1,300 migrants arrive from Africa on 42 wooden boats during the weekend alone.
Germany's top court sides with asylum seeker fleeing slavery
The appeal of a woman from Mauritania against her denied asylum request in Germany should not have been rejected, Germany's highest court said on Wednesday. The woman claimed to be born into a rigid caste system.
Migrant boat capsizes off Mauritania coast, leaving just one survivor
A boat carrying around 40 migrants and refugees sunk off the coast, killing almost everyone on board. A UNHCR spokesman said the shipwreck was the fault of 'immoral and unscrupulous smugglers' arranging such journeys.
Back to Mauritania: Frontex repatriates migrants arriving on Canary Islands
On Monday, a Frontex operated repatriation flight took off from Spain’s Canary Islands for Mauritania. 51 African migrants were on board. This is the third such flight this year, says the Spanish Ombudsman. The repatriations are a result of a 2003 agreement signed between Spain and Mauritania.
Migrant arrivals increase in Spain's Canary Islands
The number of migrants arriving in the Spanish Canary Islands increased last month to 18 times the number in January 2019, the AFP news agency reports. However, fewer migrants are trying to reach mainland Spain by boat.
Mauritanian coast guard intercepts boat carrying around 190 migrants, IOM says
A boat carrying around 190 migrants was intercepted by the Mauritanian coast guard on Friday, the UN migration agency said. This comes less than two days after 63 migrants drowned when their vessel sank in the same waters en route from The Gambia. The country's president has vowed to crack down on people traffickers.
Gambian town mourns migrant deaths at sea off Mauritania
A coastal town in Gambia is in mourning after at least 63 people died in a shipwreck off the coast of Mauritania on December 4.