Mauritania says 132 irregular migrants rescued off its coast

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania / ISTANBUL

Mauritania’s coast guard said Wednesday it rescued 132 irregular migrants off the country’s coast.

In a statement, the coast guard said 104 aboard the vessel were Senegalese, and the rest were Gambian.

The group included 27 women and four children.

The boat left Senegal’s coast on Nov. 20 and was intercepted off Mauritania early Wednesday, the statement said.

In mid-November, Mauritania’s coast guard said that it rescued 227 migrants who had departed Gambia and were found off the coast of Nouadhibou in the country’s northwest.

Mauritania serves as a key transit point for African migrants, with the northern city of Nouadhibou becoming a hub for those seeking to cross into Europe in recent years.

The country has established agreements with several European nations, notably Spain, to curb irregular migration.

Authorities have stepped up patrols in recent months, intercepting dozens of boats carrying irregular migrants through the country’s territorial waters toward Europe.