Migrants deported from Mauritania recount police beatings

Passengers from the Mauritanian side of the Senegal river disembark from a pirogue in Rosso, Senegal, on March 20, 2025. (AFP)
Passengers from the Mauritanian side of the Senegal river disembark from a pirogue in Rosso, Senegal, on March 20, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 22 March 2025
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Migrants deported from Mauritania recount police beatings

Passengers from the Mauritanian side of the Senegal river disembark from a pirogue in Rosso, Senegal, on March 20, 2025. (AFP)
  • Government spokesperson Houssein Ould Meddou said migrants were returned to the border crossings through which they had entered the country

ROSSO, SENEGAL: Ismaila Bangoura has terrible dreams about the night when he says Mauritanian police burst into the place in Nouakchott he shared with other Guineans, beat them up, and carted them off to a police station.

After three days in detention without food or access to toilets, they were taken to the border with Senegal on March 7, the 25-year-old said.

Since then, the group has wandered the streets of Rosso with nowhere to go and no connections to this remote part of northern Senegal.

“They beat us and stuck us in jail without telling us why,” said Bangoura, a trained carpenter who emigrated to Mauritania in 2024 to earn a living.

“They took everything we had — money, watches, phones. They handcuffed us and crammed us into buses to deport us,” he said.

He was left with only the clothes on his back — a Guinea squad football jersey and a pair of black shorts.

For several weeks now, Mauritania has been throwing out migrants, mostly from neighboring countries in West Africa like Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, and Guinea.

The campaign has sparked indignation in the region.

The vast, arid country on the Atlantic seaboard is a departure point for many African migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea.

The authorities say their “routine” deportations target undocumented people.

They have not provided information on the number of people expelled.

None of the migrants said they intended to take to the sea.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ahmed Ould Mohammed Lemine told journalists all the foreigners deported had been in Mauritania illegally.

He said the expulsions were “compliant with international conventions.”

Government spokesperson Houssein Ould Meddou said migrants were returned to the border crossings through which they had entered the country.

NGOs, however, have condemned the “inhumane” deportations, and the Senegalese government has voiced outrage at the treatment of its nationals.

A few meters from the Rosso crossing, about 30 migrants — mostly Guinean men, women, and children — squatted in a dilapidated building littered with rubbish, each trying to carve out a space of their own in the narrow edifice.

“You have to get in there quickly if you want to secure a place to sleep at night,” commented a young man named Abibou.

The rest “sleep on the street,” he said.

The most fortunate end up at the nearby Red Cross premises, where they are looked after.

But Mbaye Diop, the head of the Red Cross branch in Rosso, said there had been such a large influx of migrants recently that his organization could no longer accommodate everyone.

“The people who come to us generally arrive exhausted. They’re hungry and need a shower. Some also need psychological support,” he said.

Around him, several migrants tried to get some sleep on old mats despite the constant noise and movement of people around them.

Others remained huddled in their corners, staring blankly.

“We’re hungry. We haven’t eaten anything since this morning,” one said.

Some said they were getting restless and now just wanted to go home.

Amid the hubbub, Ramatoulaye Camara tried to soothe her crying toddler.

She was also deported in early March.

Despite being heavily pregnant with another child, she was — like many others — beaten by Mauritanian guards, imprisoned, and stripped of all her belongings, she recounted.

“We suffered a lot,” she said quietly, trying to comfort the little girl.

Idrissa Camara, 33, has been working as a carpenter in Nouakchott since 2018.

On March 16, he says he was arrested at his workplace and deported. Since then, he has been wandering around Rosso in the same grey and yellow overalls and protective boots, his only remaining possessions.

“They got so dirty and smelly these past few days that I had to go and wash them in the river. I had to hang around nearby in my underwear while they dried,” he said.

The married father of two said he had kept his deportation secret from his family so as not to distress them and planned to return to Nouakchott and his job there.

“All I want is to be able to work and provide for my family. I haven’t harmed anyone,” he said.

 


Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident

Updated 5 sec ago
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Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident

Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident
The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France
Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said

HAMBURG: Freight shipping on the river Mosel in west Germany has been blocked to shipping after an accident involving a passenger ship that damaged a lock, authorities said on Thursday.

The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France. Transit was halted after an accident on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier, a police spokesperson said.

Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said.

Technical experts on Thursday were examining the lock, and it is not yet possible to comment on the level of damage or say how long the impact on shipping will last, river navigation authority WSA said.

German federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder said in a statement he will visit the accident site later on Thursday.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the lock can resume operations as soon as possible,” Schnieder said.

The river was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident that damaged a lock at Mueden, south of Koblenz, and only reopened in February after lengthy repairs.

Initial indications are that the lock’s concrete structure and drive mechanism were not damaged in the accident, WSA head Eric Oehlmann said in a statement.

Technicians are currently assessing whether it is possible to resume limited lock operations for the waiting vessels to pass, he said.

“If not, we will find another solution, for example, through emergency locks with temporary water control barriers, which have already proven effective,” Oehlmann said.

A temporary lock was successful in allowing ships to transit during the winter disruption.

“Despite the accident, there is determination that shipping on the Moselle will not come to a complete standstill," Oehlmann said.

Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA
Updated 5 min 57 sec ago
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Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA
  • ‘The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue,’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry says

TOKYO: Japan has expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Japan attaches great importance to the activities of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s nuclear program and expresses serious concern over this announcement,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.”

Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday that they would no longer cooperate with the agency. Japan had been urging Iran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA and said all necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve this will go on, in cooperation with the international community and relevant organizations.

“Japan has consistently emphasized the importance of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue, based on the position that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, for the sake of maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Foreign Ministry added.


Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK

Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK
Updated 25 min 50 sec ago
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Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK

Ex-Labour chief could form pro-Palestine party in UK
  • Corbyn in talks with Independent Alliance MPs elected in 2024 for opposing Gaza war
  • Jeremy Corbyn: That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative

LONDON: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested he could launch a political movement to provide a left-wing “alternative” to the governing party before the next general election.

Corbyn was suspended from Labour in 2020 by the UK’s current Prime Minister Keir Starmer due to a row over antisemitism. 

He has since sat as an independent MP, and has hinted at a desire to form a new group centered around socialist policies with a pro-Palestine stance.

Corbyn told ITV’s “Peston” political show that he is holding discussions with members of the Independent Alliance, who were elected last year by running on pro-Palestine platforms against Labour MPs.

The alliance includes Leicester South MP Shockat Adam; Birmingham Perry Barr MP Ayoub Khan; Blackburn MP Adnan Hussain; and Dewsbury and Batley MP Iqbal Mohamed.

“That grouping will come together. There will be an alternative,” Corbyn said, adding that its foreign policy platform would be “based on peace rather than war,” and that it would seek to alleviate poverty and inequality.


Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine

Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine
Updated 03 July 2025
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Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine

Denmark vows to push EU membership for Ukraine
  • "We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Frederiksen said
  • Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa

AARHUS, Denmark: Denmark promised on Thursday to push for Ukraine to join the EU, as the Nordic country welcomed Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the start of its six-month EU presidency.

Ukraine launched its bid to become an EU member in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion, but it has stalled because of opposition from Hungary.

"We must strengthen Ukraine. And we must weaken Russia," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement, promising to mix increased military support to Kyiv with sanctions on Moscow.

Zelensky is meeting Frederiksen in the city of Aarhus, as well as European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Frederiksen has stressed the importance of European security, which she links to a strict migration policy, and the country has promised to push the agenda and champion Ukraine during its EU presidency.

The Aarhus meeting comes as the United States announced it would stop supplying some weapons to Ukraine, after President Donald Trump effectively nixed the country's attempts to join the NATO military alliance.

Russian strikes have intensified in the absence of progress on resolving the conflict, and the US moves have severely hampered Kyiv, which has relied on Western military support since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

"Ukraine is essential to Europe's security. Our contribution to Ukraine is also a protection of our freedom," Frederiksen said.

"Ukraine belongs in the European Union. It is in both Denmark's and Europe's interest. Therefore, the Danish EU presidency will do everything we can to help Ukraine on their way towards EU membership."

Denmark's Europe minister Marie Bjerre told reporters earlier on Thursday that Ukraine's EU membership bid was "very important for us".

"We are still trying to lift the resistance from Hungary," she said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Ukraine's membership of the EU would "ruin" the 27-nation bloc.

Using its veto power, Hungary has effectively frozen the accession process.

Ukraine has insisted it still hopes Budapest can be brought around, claiming intensive work is being done "behind the scenes".

The Danish government said discussions at the Aarhus meeting would include increased military support, cooperation with the Ukrainian defence industry and new sanctions against Russia.

The Nordic nation has also made repeated calls for Europe to boost defence spending.

Denmark wants to move forward on a European plan presented in March to increase the defence capabilities of EU countries using simplified procedures and loans to finance investments in the European defence industry.

The Scandinavian country has already begun increasing its own defence spending, which now exceeds three percent of GDP.


Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director

Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director
Updated 03 July 2025
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Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director

Shock in Jakarta, MPs demand action after Israel assassinates Indonesian hospital director
  • Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, renowned cardiac surgeon, was killed in targeted Israeli airstrike
  • Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and health workers in Gaza since October 2023

JAKARTA/DUBAI: Israel’s assassination of Dr. Marwan Al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, has sparked shock in Jakarta, with parliamentarians calling for new international accountability mechanisms to hold Israel legally responsible for its crimes in Gaza.

A renowned cardiac surgeon and one of Palestine’s most senior doctors, Dr. Al-Sultan graduated from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Hyderabad, Pakistan, in 2001.

He was killed along with his wife and children in an Israeli airstrike on their temporary residence in northern Gaza on Wednesday.

His surviving daughter, Lubna, told the media that the missile “targeted his room exactly, right where he was.” Her testimony confirmed statements from the Gaza Ministry of Health and the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee — which funded the Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia — that the attack was a targeted assassination.

“The attack on Dr. Marwan was utterly savage and barbaric,” Dr. Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees, told Arab News.

“It was a shock to hear the news. I couldn’t believe it. He was the only heart specialist left in the north. This is a huge loss.”

The Indonesia Hospital in Beit Lahia, one of the biggest health facilities in Gaza, was one of the first targeted by Israel when it started its deadly war on the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.

Dr. Al-Sultan had never left his post, remaining with patients through multiple Israeli offensives on the hospital and personally overseeing repairs to restore essential services, MER-C said in a statement recalling how in December 2024, he evacuated the facility while under Israeli siege.

The moment was recorded on a mobile phone, showing Dr. Al-Sultan leaving only after he had ensured the safety of every patient.

The Indonesia Hospital opened in late 2015. Coordinated by MER-C, its construction and equipment were financed from donations of the Indonesian people, with dozens of engineers and builders volunteering to design and build the facility and to prepare its operations.

The killing of Dr. Al-Sultan has spurred outcry in Indonesia, with the government issuing an official condemnation and lawmakers from the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation calling on parliamentarians around the world to “push for international accountability mechanisms” to ensure that “crimes against humanity be immediately brought to international forums, including global parliamentary bodies, so that Israel can be held legally and morally accountable for its actions in Gaza.”

Israel has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 133,000 others, since October 2023. The true death toll is feared to be much higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent.

The study says the death toll may be even higher, as it does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to health care, caused by the Israeli military’s destruction of most of Gaza’s infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid.

Data from the UN and international health organizations shows that Israel has killed at least 492 doctors and medics in Gaza since October 2023.

Dr. Al-Sultan is the 70th health care worker to be killed in the last 50 days, according to Healthcare Workers Watch.

“He was a prominent medical figure, both as a heart specialist and director of the Indonesia Hospital,” Dr. Hadiki Habib, chairman of MER-C’s executive committee, told Arab News.

“We had feared that this could happen, but he had said that he would remain in Gaza and, if he were to be martyred, it would be in his homeland.”