MADRID: As many as 50 migrants, many of them Pakistanis, may have drowned in the latest deadly wreck involving people trying to make the crossing from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, migrant rights group Walking Borders said on Thursday.
Moroccan authorities rescued 36 people on Wednesday from a boat that had left Mauritania on Jan. 2 with 86 migrants, including 66 Pakistanis, on board, the group said.
Forty-four of those presumed to have drowned were from Pakistan, Walking Borders CEO Helena Maleno said on X.
“They spent 13 days of anguish on the crossing without anyone coming to rescue them,” she said.
The boat capsized off the coast of the disputed region of Western Sahara and several of the survivors, which included some Pakistanis, were taken to a camp near the port of Dakhla, Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a post on X.
Pakistan said the boat was carrying 80 passengers.
Asked about what warnings it had received from NGOs regarding a missing boat, Spain’s maritime rescue service said it had learned on Jan. 10 about a vessel that had left Nouakchott in Mauritania and was experiencing problems but it could not confirm if it was the same boat.
The service said it had carried out air searches without success and had warned nearby ships.
Walking Borders said it had alerted authorities from all countries involved six days ago about the missing boat. Alarm Phone, an NGO that provides an emergency phone line for migrants lost at sea, also said it had alerted Spain’s maritime rescue service on Jan. 12 about a boat in distress.
A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024, most while attempting to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary islands, according to Walking Borders.
Citing the Walking Borders’ post on X, the Canary Islands’ regional leader Fernando Clavijo expressed his sorrow for the victims of the latest wreck and urged Spain and Europe to act to prevent further tragedies.
“The Atlantic cannot continue to be the graveyard of Africa,” Clavijo said on X. “They cannot continue to turn their backs on this humanitarian drama.”
Dozens of migrants may have drowned in attempt to cross to Spain, NGO says
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Dozens of migrants may have drowned in attempt to cross to Spain, NGO says
- Moroccan authorities rescued 36 people on Wednesday from a boat that had left Mauritania
- Forty-four of those presumed to have drowned were from Pakistan, Walking Borders CEO Helena Maleno said on X
Bangladesh seeks to join international force in Gaza
- A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized a so-called Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza where a ceasefire began in October
WASHINGTON: Bangladesh said on Saturday it has told the United States that it wants to join the international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza.
Bangladesh said its national security adviser, Khalilur Rahman, met US diplomats Allison Hooker and Paul Kapur in Washington.
Rahman “expressed Bangladesh’s interest in principle to be part of the international stabilization force that would be deployed in Gaza,” a Bangladeshi government statement added. It did not mention the extent or nature of its proposed involvement. The State Department had no immediate comment.
A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized a so-called Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza where a ceasefire began in October.
The truce has not progressed beyond its first phase, and little progress has been made on the next steps. More than 400 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect, and nearly all of Gaza’s more than 2 million people live in makeshift homes or damaged buildings in a sliver of territory where Israeli troops have withdrawn and Hamas has reasserted control.
Both Israel and Hamas remain far apart on the more difficult steps envisaged for the next phase of the ceasefire and have accused each other of violations. Israel’s military assault on Gaza since late 2023 has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say it amounts to genocide. Israel called its actions self-defense after a 2023 Hamas attack in which 1,200 were killed and over 250 taken hostage.
