Morocco Says It Foiled 89,000 Illegal Migration Attempts in 2018

African migrants seated in their hiding place in the Moroccan mountains near the port city of Tangier, Morocco September 6, 2018 | Reuters/ FILE PHOTO
African migrants seated in their hiding place in the Moroccan mountains near the port city of Tangier, Morocco September 6, 2018 | Reuters/ FILE PHOTO
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Morocco Says It Foiled 89,000 Illegal Migration Attempts in 2018

African migrants seated in their hiding place in the Moroccan mountains near the port city of Tangier, Morocco September 6, 2018 | Reuters/ FILE PHOTO
African migrants seated in their hiding place in the Moroccan mountains near the port city of Tangier, Morocco September 6, 2018 | Reuters/ FILE PHOTO

Morocco stopped 89,000 people from illegally migrating in 2018, up 37 percent compared to a year earlier, the interior ministry said on Thursday, as the country became the main launchpad in the Mediterranean for Europe-bound migrants.

In 2018, Moroccan authorities dismantled 229 migrant trafficking networks, the interior ministry’s figure showed.

Some 80 percent of illegal migrants intercepted in 2018 were foreigners, 29,715 migrants were saved at sea while 5,608 opted for a voluntary return to their home countries, the ministry said.

Morocco, which other Africans can visit without visas, has become a major gateway for migrants into Europe since Italy’s tougher line and EU aid to the Libyan coastguard curbed the number of people coming from Libya.

While some migrants try to reach Ceuta and another Spanish enclave in Africa, Melilla, others pay smugglers to put them on boats, as Spain is just 14 km across the western end of the Mediterranean.

The EU has already transferred 30 million euros out of 140 million promised last October to help Morocco curb illegal migration, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Thursday at a news conference in Rabat.

About half of the 111,558 migrants and refugees who entered Europe by the Mediterranean sea in 2018 made it through the western route separating the Iberian peninsula from North Africa, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Some 2,217 died while crossing the Mediterranean including 744 on the western route, the IOM said.



UN Calls for 'Immediate Deescalation' in Libyan Capital

Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP
Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP
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UN Calls for 'Immediate Deescalation' in Libyan Capital

Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP
Man waving the Libyan flag - File Photo/AFP

The UN mission in Libya called for "immediate deescalation", citing reports of armed forces being mobilized in the capital and its surroundings that have raised fears of renewed violence.

In mid-May, there were clashes in Tripoli between forces loyal to the government and powerful armed groups wanting to dismantle it.

In a statement published late on Wednesday on X, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said there were "increased reports of continued military build-up in and around Tripoli", AFP reported.

It said it "strongly urges all parties to refrain from using force, particularly in densely populated areas, and to avoid any actions or political rhetoric that could trigger escalation or lead to renewed clashes".

It called for all parties to "engage in good faith" in deescalation and for the "swift implementation of security arrangements" set out during efforts to end the May violence.

Those clashes left six people dead, the United Nations said.

"Forces recently deployed in Tripoli must withdraw without delay," UNSMIL said.

Libya has been gripped by conflict since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

The country remains split between Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah's UN-recognized government based in Tripoli and a rival administration based in the east.

In a TV interview on Monday, Dbeibah called for armed groups to vacate the areas under their control.

Among the sites held by armed factions are the Mitiga airport in the east of the capital, which is controlled by the powerful Radaa Force.

"Dialogue -- not violence -- remains the only viable path toward achieving lasting peace, stability in Tripoli and across Libya", the UNSMIL statement said.