Published On 10/6/2026
The Mauritanian Coast Guard announced, on Tuesday, the rescue of more than 1,100 migrants off the coast of Mauritania in less than two weeks, indicating a resurgence in migration along the dangerous Atlantic route.
The Director of the Irregular Migration Unit in the Mauritanian Coast Guard, Ahmed Moulay, was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying, “1,187 migrants have been rescued in Mauritanian waters since May 28, and given this new increase, the number of arrivals may reach an unprecedented level this year.”
Pierre Bizes, a European diplomat residing in the capital, Nouakchott, said that the eight boats that were intercepted were coming from the neighboring countries of Gambia and Senegal, but the nationalities of their passengers were not determined.
According to the Coast Guard, one of these boats was stopped around 2 a.m. (GMT) on Tuesday off Mamghar, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Nouakchott.
The migrants were transferred to new temporary reception centers in Nouakchott and the city of Nouadhibou in the northwest of the country, funded by the European Union. Their data was recorded to determine whether they were vulnerable or eligible for international protection.
Thousands of people – most of them young people – have tried to reach Europe from West Africa in recent years, mainly via Spain’s Canary Islands, on overcrowded and rickety boats known as “traditional canoes”.
These latest launches came a few days after the advent of Eid al-Adha at the end of May, after a period of calm that lasted for months.
The recent tightening of maritime controls in Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco led to changing the departure points for illegal boats heading to the Canary Islands.
Migrants are now departing from areas further south, especially the coasts of Gambia and Guinea, which prolongs their journey at sea and increases the danger.
Many African migrants resorted to secret routes after Europe imposed severe restrictions on issuing visas and tightened border controls.
Thousands of people have died or disappeared while trying to reach Europe via this route in recent years.
