In the Canary Islands, the archipelago off the coast of West Africa that belongs to Spain, a total of 1,275 migrants arrived on 42 open wooden boats last weekend. The port authorities report this. In Cyprus, a migrant boat arrived from Turkey for the fifth day in a row.
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Since January, the number of migrants reaching the archipelago by sea has risen to 17,000. That is about six times as many as in the year before. Most migrants, who left their African homeland for poverty and violence, arrive for registration at the pier of the port city of Areguineguin, in the southwest of Gran Canaria.
After registration, many are housed in hotels, which are vacant due to the corona crisis.
For the fifth day in a row, a migrant boat was intercepted off the coast of Cyprus and collided from Turkey. There were 21 people on board. Almost daily, small groups of migrants from Turkey, Syria or Lebanon arrive in Cyprus.
The government in Nicosia has often asked the European Union for help because the reception centers for asylum seekers are overcrowded. Last year, nearly 10,000 migrants arrived on the island of 1.2 million inhabitants, according to Cypriot police.
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