The migrants told rescuers they had set sail from the small town of Boujdour in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, 200 nautical miles south of the Canary Islands, officials said. Jose Antonio Rodriguez Verona, head of the Red Cross emergency team on the Canary Islands, said what exactly had happened remained unclear and the migrants who made it to the Canary islands did not identify who had opened fire. "The migrants told us that there were two people who had died on the crossing and their bodies had been thrown overboard," he told Reuters. Injuries to migrants are frequently caused by trafficking gangs following disputes, according to rights groups and migrants speaking previously to Reuters. However Moroccan rights groups including the CNDH state human rights council have also warned of the growing use of force by the Moroccan authorities in the control of migrants from Africa towards Europe.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 27, 2023 12:23 UTC