The Senegalese navy said it had intercepted nearly 100 illegal migrants over the weekend, the majority of whom were Malian and bound for Europe.

There were 93 illegal migrants “apprehended” between Friday and Saturday during a “series of operations” carried out at different sites along the West African nation’s coastal Thies and Saint-Louis regions, the navy said late Saturday on X, formerly Twitter. 

The navy said the migrants consisted of 83 Malians, seven people from the Gambia and three from Mauritania, countries all neighboring Senegal. 

Their arrest was part of the “fight against irregular emigration”, it added. 

Thousands of Africans hoping for a better life try every year to reach Europe over the Atlantic despite the danger of the journey which kills hundreds. 

They travel aboard modest boats or motorized canoes provided by smugglers who they pay for the trip. 

Many land in the Canaries, a Spanish archipelago and a gateway to Europe.

(AFP)