Spain fears that increasing migrant arrivals from Algeria to the Spanish Balearic Islands might create a “new gateway for irregular migrants,” in light of the diplomatic crisis that erupted between Algeria and Spain around the Sahara conflict.
Despite the slight decrease in boats carrying Algerians to Spanish shores during the past month, Spanish El Pais news outlets reported that the Spanish coast continued to receive dozens of boats per day throughout the summer.
The Balearic Islands have received more than 98 boats of Algerian migrants during the past weeks, sounding alarmed on a new route in formation.
Spanish newspaper La Razon criticized Algeria’s lax migration policy as a “revenge approach,” that erupted after Spain sided with Morocco on the Sahara issue.
The rise in migratory flows, as described by La Razon is due to “political reasons, mainly divided between diplomatic tension with Spain and the Algerian movement, and social reasons that are embodied mainly in the fragile economic conditions of the country,” as she put it.
Up until recently, the Algerian migratory route to Spain had mostly been used by Algerian nationals. at least 10,000 Algerians reached the Spanish coast this way between January and December 2021, 20% higher than the previous year.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune previously described Spain’s favoring of Morocco’s position on Western Sahara as “morally and historically unacceptable.”
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.