At least 1603 Gambians have died on the backway in 2024, according to data issued by Gambian migrant activist Ebrima Drammeh and his team in Malta.
The data revealed that out of the 1603 deaths, 1557 are said to have perished at sea while 46 died on land.
Speaking to The Standard, Drammeh said he and his team have also recorded 46 migrant boats that went missing without trace in the same year.
Arrivals
The data also revealed that about 5873 Gambians did reach Europe in boats in the same period with the majority landing in Spain, using routes from Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal.
Interceptions
Drammeh further revealed that about 4784 Gambian migrants were intercepted from 47 different boats, 11 of which departed from Gambian shores, 13 from Senegal, 17 from Mauritania and 6 from Morocco.
Returnees
Drammeh and his team also reported that about 6149 Gambian migrants were either deported or voluntarily returned to the Gambia in 2024.
”Some 1753 were assisted by the International Organisation for Migration IOM to return from Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Niger, Lebanon, Burkina Faso and Mauritania, 4396 others returned by themselves from 9 different countries.”
