Algeria, Mauritania intercept hundreds of migrants bound for Europe

Algeria and Mauritania said on Wednesday that they intercepted or rescued more than 500 irregular migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea amid continued migration attempts from North and West Africa toward European shores.

Algeria's Defense Ministry said its coast guard thwarted attempts by 223 irregular migrants to cross toward Europe aboard traditional boats over the past week.

In a weekly statement, the ministry said the coast guard intercepted the migrants along Algeria's coastline between Aug. 12 and 18.

Algerian army units also arrested 211 irregular migrants of various nationalities elsewhere in the country in the same period, the ministry said, without providing further details.

Days earlier, Interior Minister Said Sayoud chaired a coordination meeting at the government headquarters to review efforts to combat irregular migration and assess measures taken to address the issue.

Sayoud instructed authorities to strengthen coordination among agencies and intensify efforts to combat irregular migration, particularly along the coastline during the summer, according to an Interior Ministry statement.

The measures aim to curb smuggling networks and prevent the organization of illegal sea crossings, the statement said.

Limited numbers of migrants leave Algeria's eastern coast for Italy's Sardinia, while most crossings from the country's central and western coasts head toward Spain, including the Balearic Islands and the Iberian Peninsula.

Separately, Mauritanian coast guard forces said they rescued 315 irregular migrants off the coast of Nouadhibou in northwestern Mauritania on Wednesday as they attempted to reach Europe.

The coast guard said in a statement that its teams rescued a boat arriving from Gambia with 315 migrants aboard.

The passengers, including women, children and infants, were in “difficult humanitarian conditions,” it said.

The migrants included 191 Senegalese nationals, including three women and 29 children; 120 Gambians, including 40 women and 11 children; and one Malian national, according to the statement.

All those aboard were rescued and dealt with under applicable legal and humanitarian procedures, with the necessary care provided, it said.

Mauritania is a major transit point for irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to reach Spain's Canary Islands and then mainland Europe.