The acting Interior Minister of Spain, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, announced on Monday that Spain has provided six new multicopter drones to Senegal and plans to strengthen its security personnel deployment to help address a migration crisis in the West African country.
Grande-Marlaska made this announcement during his visit to Senegal where he met with Sidiki Kaba, his Senegalese counterpart. The number of migrants attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from West Africa, specifically Senegal, has reached a near-record high this year.
According to Grande-Marlaska, the drones delivered to the Senegal Police are specifically designed to detect vessel departures in order to intercept them. Spain has also dispatched a civil guard aircraft to assist in patrolling the coasts of Senegal and Mauritania. In addition, Spain has deployed 38 troops equipped with four boats, a helicopter, and 13 all-terrain vehicles to conduct joint patrol missions with Senegalese forces.
The journey from Senegal to Spain’s Canary Islands is notoriously dangerous, yet many people still attempt it despite numerous accidents. “We must stop his unscrupulous actions that put the lives of thousands of vulnerable people at risk,” stated Grande-Marlaska during a joint press conference with Kaba.
Both ministers expressed their commitment to intensifying efforts to combat illegal immigration and prevent further loss of life at sea, but they did not announce any additional measures to achieve this goal.
This news article was reported by Joan Faus, Corina Rodriguez, and Ngouda Dione, and was written by Anait Miridzhanian and Bate Felix. The article has been edited by Cynthia Osterman.
