Units of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), tasked with patrolling Morocco’s waters, caught a makeshift boat laid ashore with 122 would-be migrants aboard, 190 kilometers south of the city of Dakhla on Sunday.
A statement by FAR General Staff said that a dead body and a minor were among the illegal migrants, who intended to set sail to the Canary Islands.
The patrol gave first aid to the people in need, and subsequently handed them to the Royal Gendarmerie for routine processing.
The Moroccan authorities had thwarted 75,184 attempts at irregular migration in 2023, marking a 6% increase from 2022, according to the Interior Ministry’s latest figures.
Morocco is frequently viewed as a transit country for illegal migrants, notably those trying to enter Europe from sub-Saharan Africa. Hundreds of illegal migrants are routinely intercepted by coast guards and army troops heading to European lands accessible from the Kingdom’s coasts.