La Marina Real marroquí rescata a 438 migrantes en los últimos cinco días

The Royal Moroccan Navy rescued 438 migrants, mostly of sub-Saharan origin, in the waters of the Mediterranean and Atlantic between 19 and 23 of this month, a military source said.

The rescued, including three Bangladeshis and a Turk, were in difficulty in the boats in which they were travelling, according to the source, quoted by the official MAP agency, which did not specify the number of boats intercepted.

The migrants were brought ashore "safe and sound" to be handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie "according to the usual procedures".

Normally, the security services subject migrants intercepted on the country's coasts to routine interrogation, a procedure that usually ends after a few days in their transfer to cities in the centre of the country.

Last Wednesday, the Moroccan authorities announced the arrest of 93 migrants (Moroccans and sub-Saharans) in Tarfaya, in the far south of the country, who wanted, in three separate attempts, to reach the Canary Islands (Spain) in several small boats.

According to the latest data from the Spanish Interior Ministry, more than 16,500 migrants have arrived in Spain irregularly during the first seven months of 2021, 5,409 more than in the same period in 2020 (48.4 % more) and most of them have done so by sea, more than 15,000, in nearly a thousand boats.