Spain said it had plucked more than 200 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday as the country’s interior minister headed to Mauritania to try to boost cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration. Spain’s maritime rescue service saved 211 migrants from 21 different boats in the Strait of Gibraltar which separates Spain from Morocco, a spokesman for the service said. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska will meet on Monday with his Mauritanian counterpart in Nouakchott, the capital of the West African country, to “strengthen cooperation in migration matters and the fight against terrorism”, Spain’s interior ministry said in a statement. As a crackdown by Libyan authorities has made it more difficult for migrants to reach Italy, many are attempting the trip from Algeria and Morocco into Spain. More than 19,580 people have landed on Spanish shores so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Source: Punch July 29, 2018 15:00 UTC