Mauritania Coast Guard Rescues 110 Migrants Heading to Canary Islands

Mauritanian coast‑guard vessels rescued 110 migrants after their boat suffered a mechanical failure about 15 km off the coast of Nouakchott. The eight‑hour operation, which began around 01:00 local time on 3 June, secured the lives of 12 women and three minors among passengers from Mali, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Gambia and others.

The migrants had departed Banjul in The Gambia aiming for Spain’s Canary Islands. The rescue follows a series of large interceptions off Mauritania – 578 people were detained during four operations between 28 May and 31 May – after the EU‑Mauritania border‑management agreement signed in 2024 intensified patrols. Officials note that traffickers are now launching boats farther south, lengthening the Atlantic crossing and increasing danger, while arrivals in the Canaries have fallen 71 % year‑to‑date, even as entries into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta have risen sharply.