Mauritania intercepts migrant boat carrying 161, including 17 children

NOUAKCHOTT — Mauritania said on Thursday it intercepted a boat off its coast carrying 161 migrants trying to make their way to Europe.The country’s coast guard said in a statement it “rescued” the migrants from a boat in trouble off its coast near the fishing village of Amhijrat, north of the capital, Nouakchott.The migrants were “exhausted by the journey and the insecurity of the vessel” when they were rescued on Tuesday, a coast guard statement said.The boat was carrying people from Senegal, Guinea and Gambia, including 17 children. It had left Gambia’s capital Banjul eight days ago and was trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands.“They were in distress due to a lack of water and food,” an immigration official told The Associated Press. “The boat’s engine was extremely worn out and exhaust“The boat had set out to sea from Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, and had sailed for about eight days on the open sea before being spotted by coast guard units, which intervened to rescue everyone on board,” the coast guard said.“All the people on the boat are safe and sound, but particularly exhausted by the journey and the insecurity of the vessel, which already had a problem with its engine,” it added. The 161 people were taken to a reception center in the capital, Nouakchott.Last Friday, Mauritania’s coast guard rescued more than 300 migrants, including 40 children, from a boat drifting off the west African country’s Atlantic coast. Many African migrants fleeing poverty are forced to resort to clandestine and rickety boats as European countries have drastically restricted the issuing of visas and tightened control over their borders.Last month, 144 people died or have since been reported missing at sea from a boat that left The Gambia with around 190 people on board.It was rescued on July 18 after drifting for nearly 25 days, the UN refugee agency said.Medical charity Doctors Without Borders said it was “one of the deadliest landings MSF teams have witnessed in Mauritania since the beginning of 2026.”Mauritania signed a partnership deal with the EU in 2024 as part of the EU’s policy of externalizing border controls.The 210-million-euro EU package provided funds for initiatives such as border surveillance, increased sea rescue capabilities and halting smuggling networks, plus development projects. In 2024, around 10,000 people died while attempting the Atlantic migration route.