EA 20-strong civil guard crew and 170 migrants have landed on the beach of Noutibo in Mauritania – with an uncertain outcome. The “Rio Tajo”, a rescue ship used in North Africa, took people of Senegalese origin to a wooden boat in Mauritanian waters last Friday.
The Spanish ship headed for the port of Noutibou in Mauritania to disembark the migrants – as usual. However, things got complicated when a gendarmerie officer, who was said to be the head of a Mauritanian port, came on board. After an exchange with the crew, the official refused to allow the migrants to disembark on Mauritanian territory.
Sources familiar with the case confirmed to WELT that a huge sum was demanded so that the 170 people didn’t have to stay on board – which Spanish police officers were unable or unwilling to meet.
Spain’s interior ministry has remained silent on the incident, and police sources have even invited journalists to publicize the dangerous situation.
Spanish military police are stationed in Mauritania with the aim of preventing illegal immigration towards the Canary Islands. Networks of people smugglers are also to be discovered. If the boats crash, the police take up rescue operations. The Guardia Civil – as a rule – works closely with the Mauritanian authorities.
In cases like last Friday, the protocol is clear: migrants are brought back to a Mauritanian port, taken into the care of helpless state authorities; Often there are deportations to Senegal, where many boat migrants who want to go to Europe arrive. In the past, according to reports from people close to the police union from AGUC to WELT, money has allegedly flowed secretly to ensure the removal of people.
According to the AUGC, the situation on board the “Rio Tajo” is “extremely complex” and involves danger to the lives and lives of the officers. According to the union, chaos erupted when officers on a patrol boat fired into the air to control the rescued migrants, who tried to control the boat, apparently out of fear, to go ashore in Nautico, Canary Islands.
Current location of “Rio Tajo”.
Source: WORLD
Therefore, it was decided to increase the number of officers on the patrol boat and mobilize all the personnel of the Nautibu Guardia Civil Department.
Mauritania’s refusal to allow the landings led to serious tensions between the Spanish and Mauritanian authorities. As more hours pass without a solution to the disembarkation of the migrants and the safety of the crew, it is clear that unrest on the ship will increase. If the ship still has to go to the Canary Islands, it will take three days.
In view of the impasse, the “Rio Tajo” was ordered by the Mauritanian Shipping Authority to leave port. A Spanish patrol boat remains docked near a Mauritanian port on Monday morning, awaiting a resolution to the crisis. The captain, a civilian military police officer and employee of a Spanish shipping company, has meanwhile decided to activate the AIS tracking device so that all the ship’s movements can be monitored – and quickly identified in the event of an emergency.
Bank of the “Dagus River”.
Source: WORLD
The captain, meanwhile, has taken strict measures to maintain security on board, confining police officers to locked compartments and only allowing them to go out to feed the migrants.
There has been no official statement yet from Fernando Grande Marlasca, the socialist who heads Spain’s interior ministry. Why didn’t the “Rio Tajo” sail toward Spanish waters long ago to avoid further tensions that could endanger the safety of Spanish agents and emigrants? Not clear.
Although Mauritania is 700 kilometers south of the Canary Islands, despite the long distance, it is a frequent departure point for people from the region who want to reach the EU by boat. Nouadhibou is home to a huge fishing port with hundreds of vessels called cayucos. From here, the migrants set off on a perilous journey. In the past few days and weeks, the number of visitors to the Canary Islands has increased dramatically. Officials expect the situation to worsen in the fall.
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