RABAT, March 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two migrants drowned after their boat capsized and more than 200 others have been detained as they prepared to leave Morocco by sea, state news agency MAP reported.
The bodies of the two migrants washed up “after a boat capsized,” MAP reported, without giving further details.
Separately, Moroccan authorities arrested 236 migrants during operations on Friday and Saturday in the southern province of Tarfaya and the city of Laayoune, the main city in the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
The migrants were reportedly seeking to cross to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Tarfaya is located 100 kilometers from the Canary Islands and has been a key transit point for migrants hoping to reach Europe.
Security forces have “recently intensified operations to control illegal immigration attempts in the region,” MAP said. — NNN-AGENCIES