RABAT: Morocco’s navy on Tuesday rescued nearly 200 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in flimsy boats off the country’s southern coast and Western Sahara, state media reported.
Including the latest group, at least 518 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been brought back to Morocco since August 8, according to an AFP tally based on Moroccan military sources.
Sailors found the latest group, totalling 190, in “waters between Tan-Tan and Dakhla,” a military source told state news agency MAP. Among them were 11 women, MAP said.
Spain’s Canary Islands are only about 150 kilometers (93 miles) off southern Morocco, west of Tan-Tan, which is northeast of Dakhla in the disputed Western Sahara.
The Canary migratory route has experienced a marked upsurge of activity in recent weeks.
Moroccan authorities said they halted 26,000 irregular migration attempts in the first five months of 2023.
In the first six months, 7,213 migrants reached the Canary Islands by boat, Spanish interior ministry figures show.
At least 13 Senegalese died in mid-July when their boat sank off Morocco, according to authorities in Senegal.
Nearly 200 migrants intercepted off Morocco coast
https://arab.news/8b72h
Nearly 200 migrants intercepted off Morocco coast
- Including the latest group, at least 518 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have been brought back to Morocco since August 8
- Sailors found the latest group, totalling 190, in “waters between Tan-Tan and Dakhla”
EU warns Israel suspending Gaza NGOs would block ‘life-saving aid’
BRUSSELS: The EU warned Wednesday that Israel's threat to suspend several aid groups in Gaza from January would block "life-saving" assistance from reaching the population.
"The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form," EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib posted on X, after Israel said several groups would be barred for failing to provide details of their Palestinian employees.
"IHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need," Lahbib wrote.
NGOs had until December 31 to register under the new framework, which Israel says aims to prevent "hostile actors or supporters of terrorism" operating in the Palestinian territories, rather than impede aid.
Israeli authorities announced Tuesday that organisations which "refused to submit a list of their Palestinian employees in order to rule out any links to terrorism" had received notice that their licences would be revoked as of January 1, with an obligation to cease all activities by March 1.
Israel has not disclosed the number of groups facing a ban, but it has specifically called out Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for failing to meet the rules. It accused the medical charity of employing two individuals with links to Palestinian armed groups.
The Israeli government told AFP earlier this month that 14 NGO requests had been rejected as of November 25.
Several NGOs said the new rules will have a major impact on aid distribution in Gaza, with humanitarian organisations saying the amount of aid entering Gaza remains inadequate.
While an accord for a ceasefire that started on October 10 stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.
COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.
