MADRID: Around 2,000 migrants tried to storm the border separating Spain’s Melilla enclave from Morocco on Friday, the first such attempted mass crossing into the territory since the two nations mended diplomatic ties in March. Some 2,000 migrants made their way to the border at dawn and over 500 managed to enter the border control […]
migrants
Indonesia rejects Rohingya refugees, sends stricken boat to Malaysia
Dozens of Rohingya refugees intercepted after their boat ran into trouble off the coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province were being sent into Malaysian waters, authorities said on Tuesday. At least 100 mostly women and children aboard a wooden vessel said to be taking on water were denied refuge in Indonesia and instead pushed into the […]
At least 57 Europe-bound migrants drown off Libya: IOM
At least 57 migrants drowned after their boat sank off Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday, the latest tragedy on the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing to Europe. “Horrified by yet another painful loss of life off the Libyan coast,” Federico Soda, the IOM’s Libya mission chief, said on Twitter. “At least 57 people […]
Morocco’s navy rescues 368 migrants bound for Spain
The Moroccan navy this week rescued 368 migrants including three children as they were trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Spain, the official MAP news agency said Friday. It said the migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, were rescued between Tuesday and Friday when their makeshift boats, including rubber dinghies and kayaks, ran into difficulty. […]
43 missing after migrant boat sinks off Tunisia: Red Crescent
At least 43 people were missing off the southeastern coast of Tunisia after a boat carrying more than 120 migrants sank, the Tunisian Red Crescent said on Saturday. “Eighty-four migrants were rescued and 43 others disappeared after a boat carrying 127 migrants sank off the coast of Zarzis” on Friday night, Mongi Slim of the […]
Algeria intercepts protest figure on migrant boat: NGO
A prominent figure from Algeria’s Hirak pro-democracy protest movement was among those on a Spain-bound migrant boat intercepted by the Algerian coastguard, a rights group said Tuesday. Media outlets in Algeria reported that the coastguard had intercepted a political activist among 14 people it detained on Sunday night off Oran, on the country’s northwest coast. […]
Two dead on migrant boat off Spain’s Canary Islands
Two people have been found dead in a migrant boat intercepted overnight off the coast of Spain’s Canary Islands, local authorities said on Monday. The boat, which was carrying 37 people, was intercepted off the southwestern coast of Gran Canaria island after setting off from Africa, emergency services tweeted. “Two people were found dead and […]
Four Afghans get 10-year jail terms for Greek migrant camp fire
A Greek court on Saturday sentenced four young Afghan asylum seekers accused of starting fires that burnt down Europe’s largest migrant camp last year to 10 years in prison each. Defence lawyers said the court found them guilty of intentional arson. The Moria camp on the Aegean island of Lesbos was home to more than […]
23 migrants missing, two dead off Tunisia coast
At least 23 migrants were missing and two bodies recovered from the sea off Tunisia, the Red Crescent reported Wednesday, after the military said more than 100 migrants were intercepted. The Tunisian navy said a boat headed for Europe from Zuwara in Libya was intercepted on Tuesday near Miskar oil platform, some 67 kilometres (52 […]
2,700 migrants reach Spain’s Ceuta enclave in one day
At least 2,700 migrants, about a thousand of them minors, reached Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta on Monday, Spanish officials said, a record in a single day. A spokesman for the Spanish government delegation in Ceuta said the numbers arriving Monday were unprecedented. The migrants had reached the enclave by swimming or walking at […]