The Malta Independent 19 April 2024, Friday
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Morocco navy fires on boat carrying migrants

Associated Press Wednesday, 26 September 2018, 08:34 Last update: about 7 years ago

Morocco's government says the country's navy opened fire on a boat suspected of carrying migrants, wounding four.

The Moroccan Interior Ministry says that a naval unit operating in the Mediterranean fired on the boat because its Spanish captain refused to respond to warnings.

The Interior Ministry said the boat was illegally transporting migrants. The boat was seized and an investigation opened.

MAP said the four people injured were taken to the provincial hospital in the M'diq-Fnideq region.

Regional authorities didn't immediately respond to requests for further details.

It was the second time in recent days that Morocco's Royal Navy intervened to stop a boat suspected of carrying migrants across the Mediterranean, and comes amid growing concerns about migrant trafficking in the western Mediterranean region.

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