“More than 100 bodies” African migrants have been drafted since the start of the year in Mauritania, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday April 10 visiting Bamako. A “Human tragedy” caused, according to him, by “Criminal networks” irregular immigration.
Mauritania, a vast desert country located on the West African Atlantic coast, has undergone an influx of candidates for emigration to Europe in recent weeks. She recently carried out an expulsion campaign of these migrants – notably Senegalese, Malians, Ivorians and Guineans -, arousing strong criticism in the region and diplomatic tensions with her neighbors. At the end of March, Mali was indignant at the violence suffered by its nationals and had asked for the immediate cessation of this “Flagrating violation of human rights” Following the expulsion by Nouakchott of hundreds of Malian migrants.
“In 2024, more than 500 bodies of young Africans were drafted on our coasts, and more than 100 since the start of this year. It is a human tragedy that we must face together “said Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug, the Mauritanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, quoted by the Malian presidency on social networks. “It is imperative to fight these criminal networks and encourage regular, safe and orderly migration, in strict compliance with national laws and bilateral agreements”added Mr. Merzoug.
“A Malian who arrives in Mauritania is at home, just like a Mauritanian who goes to Mali. Those who are in regular situations live in peace. The difficulties mainly concern unregistered people, which requires better organization on both sides ”he said. The Mauritanian diplomat met his Malian counterpart in Bamako on Thursday, Abdoulaye Diop, and the chief of the Malian junta, General Assimi Goïta, and discussed with them “Concerted management of migratory flows”according to the Malian presidency.
Associations for defense of migrants in Mauritania, like SOS slaves, have denounced arrests of migrants “In inhuman conditions”. The Mauritanian authorities speak, for their part, of operations of ” routine “ who target people in an irregular situation, without giving figures as to the magnitude of these repressions. Mauritania serves as a starting point for many migrants from the whole continent in an attempt to join Europe by taking the sea, in search of a better future.
Source: Lemonde