First Independent Mena Newspaper
Frustration over lack of economic opportunities and social mobility has driven thousands of disenchanted Tunisians to undertake the perilous Mediterranean crossing in an attempt to reach Europe. Some 3,811 Tunisian migrants, now in an irregular situation, arrived by sea in Italy during the first eight months of 2018 compared to 1,721 recorded during the same […]
EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker promised to release €55 million from the emergency fund to help Morocco and Spain tackle the rise of illegal migration in the Western Mediterranean. The news came after reports cited that Morocco requested help to address the illegal migration challenge in its north as an increasing number of migrants are […]
Migrants are increasingly shunning the Libyan routes for security reasons in favor of the closer and less risky Moroccan-Spanish land and sea borders. Some 400 migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa reached Spain on Thursday after storming a double barrier between Morocco and the Spain-occupied enclave of Ceuta, with some attacking security forces with quicklime, police told […]
Morocco has formally rejected the creation of migrants’ reception centers in the Kingdom as it deems the measure unhelpful to address illegal migration. “Morocco rejects and has always rejected these kinds of methods for managing the issue of migration flows,” Nasser Bourita said in Rabat after meeting his Spanish counterpart Josep Borrell. Bourita expressed satisfaction […]
The surge of illegal migration attempts on board inflatable boats departing from Algeria has pitted the Spanish authorities against their Algerian counterparts. The increase in illegal migrants’ arrivals from Algeria has prompted the Spanish Interior Ministry to summon the Algerian Ambassador to offer explanations in this respect in a move that is indicative of a […]
Spanish interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido urged the EU to support Morocco’s “considerable” efforts to fight illegal immigration. “The EU should lend more support to African partners, such as Morocco, in their colossal efforts” in countering illegal immigration, said the Spanish official at a meeting of the EU’s justice and domestic affairs council. Zoido, whose […]
Libyan forces aligned with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have announced the arrest of a man believed to be one of the barons of illegal migration and oil smuggling in Libya, called “king of smuggling”. Known as Fahmi Salim Musa Bin Khalifa, the man was arrested Thursday in the port city of Zuwara, […]
French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that France will start processing asylum seekers’ applications in Libya as of this summer, in a move to curb the deadly crossing of the Mediterranean by illegal migrants. “The idea is to create hotspots to avoid that people take crazy risks when they are not all eligible for asylum. […]
Italy is planning to send ships in Libyan waters by the end of August to combat human trafficking and stem a huge influx of immigrants, a government source said on Thursday. The announcement came after Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said that the internationally recognized government in Tripoli requested in a letter Italy’s help through […]
Mediterranean interior ministers have agreed to enhance joint actions to combat illegal migration, migrants’ smuggling and human trafficking networks, a growing lucrative business threatening peace and stability in the region. At the end of a meeting held lately in Tunis, the European and African Interior Ministers stressed the importance of addressing the roots of illegal […]