Mauritania has overtaken Senegal as the main departure point for those taking on the perilous Atlantic crossing to the Spain’s Canary Islands, during which more than 5,000 people died in the first five months of this year. 95% of migrants who try to reach Spain by sea do so on Atlantic Ocean crossings from West and Northwest Africa to the Canary Islands, a new report on the world’s deadliest migration route reveals. Some 83% of the 7,270 people who arrived in the Canary Islands in January 2024 – a 1,184% increase compared to the same month in 2023 – left from Mauritania. “Currently, most migrants are departing from Mauritania with different profiles. “When a route is shut, another one opens up,” Sani Ladan, a Madrid-based migration expert said.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 24, 2024 12:09 UTC