Morocco intercepts a boat with 141 people as African migrants

The Moroccan navy said it intercepted 141 people attempting to traverse the Atlantic Ocean as migration from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands has spiked since the beginning of the year.
Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces said in a statement Sunday it was able to rescue all passengers on a boat off the coast of the Western Sahara, a disputed territory with a coastline that Morocco has controlled since 1975.
It said the 141 people all came from sub-Saharan Africa and likely embarked more than a week earlier from Mauritania – Morocco’s southern neighbor and the primary point of departure for migrants attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands.
The interception was the largest that Moroccan authorities have reported this year.