Morocco Navy Recovers Bodies of 5 Senegalese Migrants after Boat Capsizes

Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
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Morocco Navy Recovers Bodies of 5 Senegalese Migrants after Boat Capsizes

Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed
Migrants from Africa sit on the ground as they are stuck in the desert between the Libyan-Tunisian border, near Al-Assah, Libya August 5, 2023. REUTERS/Hazem Ahmed

The Moroccan navy has recovered the bodies of five Senegalese migrants and rescued 189 others after their boat capsized off the coast of Western Sahara, official media reported.

A military official said 11 other migrants were in critical condition and were taken to Hassan II hospital in the city of Dakhla in Western Sahara, Morocco's official news agency MAP reported.

Their boat capsized Saturday off Guerguerat, a village in the south of Western Sahara close to the border with Mauritania, the unidentified official said. It is believed they were trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.