Senegal’s navy has intercepted nearly 600 irregular migrants over the past 10 days departing from the West African coast, according to posts on its social media accounts.
A patrol boat picked up 183 people from a long wooden canoe, known as a pirogue, on Tuesday off the western village of Djiffer, the navy announced on X.
This vessel was the second in a week to depart from Senegal’s Saloum Delta – a network of channels, islands, and mangrove swamps listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Another boat, which had departed the delta carrying 230 would-be migrants, was intercepted off the coast of the capital, Dakar, between Saturday and Sunday, according to the navy’s posts on X.
Tuesday’s operation brings the total number of migrants intercepted in the past 10 days to 582, based on the navy’s social media updates following three interventions.
Senegal’s coasts are a key departure point for many migrants attempting to reach Europe each year, with many setting course for the Spanish Canary Islands.
The Atlantic route is particularly hazardous due to strong currents, with officials recording thousands of deaths and disappearances annually from overloaded, often unseaworthy, boats.
In late September, Senegal’s navy recovered at least 30 bodies from a boat found adrift off the coast of Dakar.
At least 39 people also died in mid-September when a boat carrying migrants sank off the western port town of Mbour.
Following this tragedy, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye pledged to “relentlessly track down” migrant traffickers and urged young people to remain in the West African country.