Coast Guard Intercepts 156 Irregular Migrants on Their Way to the “Unknown

In yet another episode of the ongoing saga of irregular migration, Mauritanian Coast Guard patrols intercepted 156 clandestine migrants at sea on Sunday, as they attempted to cross to Spain’s Canary Islands through the Atlantic route—a journey fraught with danger and death.

The boat was intercepted north of the capital, Nouakchott, within Mauritanian territorial waters, as part of ongoing security efforts to combat irregular migration, which has become both a security and humanitarian challenge for Mauritanian authorities and their European partners.

The migrants were handed over to the relevant authorities, amid official silence regarding their identities and nationalities. However, informed sources suggest that most of them are from sub-Saharan African countries, where war, poverty, and despair push thousands to risk everything in pursuit of a “European paradise”—a dream that too often turns into a nightmare or a watery grave.

This operation comes as part of a clear security escalation against human smuggling networks, especially following a sharp rise in the number of so-called “death boats” departing from Mauritania’s shores. In response, Nouakchott has strengthened its cooperation with the European Union and Spain, in an attempt to cut off the phenomenon at its source.

It is worth noting that Mauritanian authorities have reported intercepting over 30,000 irregular migrants since the beginning of the year and dismantling dozens of smuggling networks, under a national plan supported financially and logistically by the EU. European partners are eager to stem migration flows at their point of origin.

Despite these efforts, one question remains: What drives these young people to risk their lives?
Is it an escape from a painful reality—or a chase after a distant dream?
Either way, the sea remains the only witness to the recurring chapters of this human tragedy.