Algeria arrest 683 illegal immigrants in September

Coast guards Wednesday foiled an attempt of 83 people to smuggle themselves on hand-made boats.

The national defense ministry Monday said in a release that 14 illegal immigrants of different nationalities were arrested in the provinces of Tlemcen and Adrar.

Attempts of illegal immigration have been on the rise for the last few weeks. Daily operations were conducted to foil the attempt of hundreds of people to immigrate on boats.

A total of 600 illegal immigrants have been arrested since September as they have tried to reach Europe on sea using hand-made boats, according to the same source.

The biggest operation was the arrest of 272 illegal immigrants in a day. Of them, 191 were arrested in Annaba, El-Kala, Oran, Ghazaouat and Beni Saf. The others (81) were arrested in Tlemcen, Ouargula and Oran.

The ministry also said coast guards arrested 68 illegal immigrants on September 21st. Earlier, a total of 14 immigrants and 14 others were arrested in El-Kala and Tlemcen.

On September 7th, coast guards foiled an attempt of 18 people to smuggle themselves using hand-made boats. Ten others were arrested in the province of Chlef.

Illegal immigrants use social media to post their adventure on “death boats.” Many posted videos showed children and women on immigration boats in an attempt to reach Europe’s southern coasts including Spain and Italy.