Moroccan Armed Forces Intercepts 79 Irregular Migrants in Boujdour

Rabat – The Royal Armed Forces (FAR) intercepted 79 Sub-Saharan migrants attempting to illegally cross to Europe off the coast of Boujdour.

FAR units, responsible for coastal surveillance, successfully intercepted the group, consisting of male Sub-Saharan migrants.

The individuals were provided with necessary medical care to address any immediate needs, a FAR statement indicates.

The statement adds that they were handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie for standard administrative procedures.

The operation is part of Morocco’s ongoing efforts to fight against irregular migration and human trafficking. The news comes a month after a Royal Navy frigate in the Atlantic Ocean thwarted an attempted migration of 44 Sub-Saharan individuals, including two minors, to Europe.

In January, Morocco’s border control authorities announced that they had intercepted over 1,000 migrants attempting to cross to Spain.

Units responsible for border surveillance, stationed in Nador, M’diq, and Fnideq, conducted a series of interception and removal operations on New Year’s Eve.

Reports from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces indicate that in Nador alone, 175 individuals from different countries including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen, were apprehended while attempting irregular migration.

In addition, joint operations conducted across these cities led to the detention of an additional 935 individuals attempting to illegally cross from Morocco to Spain.

According to the EU’s Frontex border and coast guard agency, the first half of 2023 saw a substantial increase in unauthorized attempts to enter the EU.

Frontex reported 132,370 irregular attempts to enter the EU outside established borders from January to June, a 10% rise compared to the same period in 2022.

Crossings in the central Mediterranean have especially spiked by over a third, with arrivals from Tunisia to Italy accounting for half of the overall numbers.