06/02/2008
Moroccan police arrested 86 African would-be immigrants on Tuesday (February 5th), as they attempted to reach Spain in two rubber dinghies. The immigrants were set to sail near Nador, Morocco. An additional group of 155 would-be immigrants were arrested Sunday off of Western Sahara, on their way to the Spanish Canary Islands.
In related news, Mauritanian security sources told AFP on Tuesday that they have arrested 172 illegal African migrants near Nouadhibou, in a joint operation with Spanish coast guards. The first group of 119 immigrants was trying to reach the Canary Islands on board a canoe. Two days later, a second group of 53 Sub-Saharan immigrants, mainly from Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Gambia were arrested, also close to Nouadhibou.