Fifteen undocumented migrants, including one Mauritanian, have died off the coast of Nouadhibou, according to a Sahara Media. Authorities in Nouadhibou discovered a boat carrying 39 migrants, among whom nine were found dead, and ten others were in critical condition. The Mauritanian Red Crescent transported the critically ill survivors to the hospital. The survivors, identified as Senegalese and Malian nationals, informed the Mauritanian Red Crescent that fifteen migrants had died from exhaustion, though their bodies were not recovered. The Nouadhibou municipality received the bodies of the deceased migrants and arranged their burial in the presence of representatives from the neighboring countries of Mauritania. Recently, more African migrants have been using Mauritania as a transit point to reach European shores due to its proximity to Spainโs Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
West Africa: ECOWAS in turmoil
West Africaโs economic grouping, ECOWAS, faces a new crisis as former chairman and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo refuses to step down despite his mandate ending on February 27, 2025. Embalo, who once criticized Sahelian coup leaders on behalf of ECOWAS, now defies the organization, even expelling its mediation delegation.