A group of 21 migrants “from North Africa” who disembarked yesterday evening in Faro, near the Ria Formosa, have already been intercepted and are now in the custody of the GNR and the Foreigners and Borders Service.
The men were picked up at about 7:45 pm in the vicinity of the beach by the Coastal Control Unit of the GNR, which, after being alerted by a member of the public, launched a search operation. The Maritime Police were also present at the landing site.
According to the SEF, the migrants were subjected to tests for Covid-19 just last night and were "immediately provided with basic needs, including food, medical assistance and accommodation". Over the course of today, Wednesday, "all necessary steps will be taken to assess the situation and promote appropriate measures for each case", assured the SEF.
The GNR Coastal Control Unit stressed that the action that culminated in the interception of migrants “took place within the scope of the Enhanced Maritime Border Operation, which has been taking place in order to detect irregular immigration flows, to fight cross-border crime and increase the performance related to the Coast Guard functions”.
Meanwhile, António Pina, president of AMAL – the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve, responded, in an interview with the Antena 1 radio station, to the migrants arriving from North Africa, the fifth instance that has been intercepted on the Algarve’s coast in recent months.
“I cannot say that there is already an illegal route with the arrival of many people, but there is at least the perception, on the other side, that these small boats are easy to reach our territory”, considered the also Mayor of Olhão.
“The final signal to demobilize these movements would be the repatriation of these citizens. We know that the last group will be repatriated and are waiting at Faro airport, in the SEF room, and I think that as soon as this happens, it will give the signal contrary to the desire of someone to use these less appropriate means to reach our country”, added Pina , in statements to the public radio station.
Before yesterday's landing, four other boats with migrants, allegedly from Morocco, had already been intercepted. On June 15th, a group of 22 men, who claimed to be of Moroccan nationality, landed on Vale de Lobo beach.
Days earlier, on 6 June, another boat with 6 migrants, who also claimed to be Moroccans, had already been intercepted inside the Ria Formosa.
On 29 January, the same had happened, with a vessel with 11 migrants, coming from El Jadida, a Moroccan coastal city. The first group of Moroccan migrants associated with this trend had arrived in the Algarve on 11 December last year, when 8 young men who also claimed to come from El Jadida (the old Portuguese Mazagão) disembarked at Monte Gordo beach, where they were intercepted by authorities.
