Rabat – Morocco’s Royal Navy coastguard on maritime patrol carried out rescue operations, assisting irregular migrants in a makeshift boat during the weekend.
The first operation took place on Saturday, rescuing 10 irregular migrants who were on board a boat in difficulty, Moroccan state media reported quoting a military source.
The migrants were all from sub-Saharan countries.
The second operation took place on Sunday, when the same coastguard rescued nine irregular migrants also of sub-Saharan origin.
The migrants were in a “very poor state of health.”
The 19 migrants received the necessary care aboard the Royal Navy boat.
The migrants were transferred to safety to the port of Tangier.
The operation is part of Morocco’s efforts to tackle irregular migration.
Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita said that the country dismantled 8,000 human trafficking cells in the past four years.
He added that Moroccan security services also foiled 14,000 irregular migration attempts, including 80 operations in Ceuta since 2016.
The remarks came in response to criticism from Spain after Spanish officials downplayed Morocco’s efforts in tackling irregular migration.
Spain’s government criticized Morocco after over 8,000 migrants reached the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from northern Morocco.
In response, Morocco has maintained that it is not “Europe’s gendarme.”
Bourita has also emphasized that Morocco “does not need to be graded by Spain nor its media.”
The EU’s financial support barely covers 20% of the costs that Morocco invests to tackle the ongoing issue.
A partnership “is not a one-way street,” Bourita said, criticizing Spain’s decision to receive Polisario leader Brahim Ghali without consultation with Morocco.
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