Thread: Mauritania refuses to let boat of 200 migrants land

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/02 ... index.html
Mauritania refuses to let boat of 200 migrants land
Story Highlights•
A boat with about 200 migrants was waiting off the Mauritanian coast Monday
• Mauritania says it "is not involved with this boat or its occupants"
• A Spanish vessel rescued the migrants on Saturday after their boat broke down
• The European Union is trying to curb illegal immigration along the African coast


NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) -- A boat of about 200 migrants -- most believed to be from Pakistan -- was waiting off the Mauritanian coast Monday after the West African country refused to receive the craft intercepted by Spanish authorities.

Mauritania "is not involved with this boat or its occupants, and has refused to give permission for the boat to land," government spokesman Babah Sidi Abdallah said.

Mauritania has agreed to help in the repatriation of migrants that use the country as a launching point, but Abdallah said this boat appeared to have left from Guinea-Bissau, a country much further south along the coast.

The boat was waiting in international waters near the northern Mauritanian fishing port of Nouadhibou, Abdallah said.

The migrants were rescued by a Spanish vessel on Saturday after their boat broke down off the coast of West Africa, according to the Spanish Foreign Ministry.

The Foreign Ministry said the Spanish vessel originally planned to tow the migrant boat to the nearest safe port in Senegal, but the Senegalese government said it was not equipped to help the migrants.

More than 24,000 people were caught trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands last year in boats from West Africa.

Most of those taking the crowded wooden boats are African, but undocumented Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and other Asians also have been intercepted. For them, Africa can be the final way station on a much longer voyage to Europe that involves complicated smuggling routes over a number of continents.

The European Union has been patrolling waters along the African coast to try to stem illegal immigration. Spain and France also have promised money to countries along the coast to help provide other options to those who say the dangerous trip to Europe is their only chance at a better life.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

But isn't that inhumane?