SAINT-LOUIS, Senegal: The small mounds of sand that dot the beach in northern Senegal blend into the terrain. But thick rope juts out from beneath the piles. Pieces of black plastic bags are scattered nearby, and green netting is strewn on top.
That’s how residents in the small fishing town of Saint-Louis say they know where the bodies lie.
These unmarked beach graves hold untold numbers of West African migrants who are increasingly attempting the treacherous journey across parts of the Atlantic to Europe, Senegalese authorities, residents along the coast and survivors of failed boat trips told The Associated Press.
Bodies wash ashore or are found by fishermen at sea, then are buried by authorities with no clarity as to whether the deaths are documented or investigated as required by Senegalese and international law, according to lawyers and human rights experts. Most of the families of those buried will never know what happened to their loved ones.
The route from West Africa to Spain is one of the world’s most dangerous, yet the number of migrants leaving from Senegal on rickety wooden boats has surged over the past year. That means more missing people and deaths — relatives, activists and officials have reported hundreds over the past month, though exact figures are difficult to verify.
The increases come amid European Union pressure for North and West African countries to stop migrant crossings. Like most nations in the region, Senegal releases little information about the crossings, the migrants who attempt the trip or those who die trying.
But according to the International Organization for Migration, at least 2,300 migrants left Senegal trying to reach Spain’s Canary Islands in the first six months of the year, doubling the number from the same period in 2022. A Spanish official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the figures weren’t authorized for release, told AP that about 1,100 arrived in the Canaries.
It’s unclear what happened to the 1,000-plus people who didn’t make it to Spain. They may have died at sea, been rescued from capsized boats or be held by authorities. Through June, Senegal detained 725 migrants, said interior ministry spokesman Maham Ka, though officials wouldn’t say whether the nine vessels involved had left shore yet.
Authorities in Saint-Louis admitted to AP that bodies are sometimes buried on the beach. They said it happens only when approved by the local prosecutor — and usually the bodies are severely decomposed.
“Why take it to the morgue since no one can recognize it?” said Amadou Fall, fire brigade commander for three northern Senegal regions.
The prosecutor in Saint-Louis wouldn’t respond to questions about approval of burials or say whether investigations were opened into the deaths. AP phoned and texted Senegal’s justice ministry, responsible for investigating deaths, but received no response.
For families, the silence can be agonizing. Mouhamed Niang’s 19- and 24-year-old nephews went missing a month ago. He filed missing-person reports, he said, but got no updates from authorities. Friends alerted him when boats were recovered or bodies washed ashore. He’d make the three-hour bus trip from Mbour north to Saint-Louis to check with officials or visit the morgue.
He told AP he knows about the bodies on the beach. His worst fear: that the young men were among them.
“They are human beings,” Niang, 51, said. “They should be buried where human beings are buried.”
If the journey goes smoothly, reaching Spain takes about eight days from Saint-Louis on pirogues — long, colorful wooden boats. Saint-Louis, bordering Mauritania, is a key hub for departures. There, the beach is now marked in parts with remnants of the black plastic resembling body bags from the morgue and the knotted rope that appears to secure what lies beneath the sand.
In recent years, the Canary Islands have again become a main gateway for those trying to reach Europe. Previously, most boats traveled from Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania, with fewer from Senegal. This year, that changed. The Spanish official who spoke to AP said numbers from Mauritania plummeted last year following pressure by local authorities with on-the-ground Spanish support. When one route is cut off, migrants tend to look for alternatives, even if they’re longer and more dangerous.
Senegal has long been regarded as a beacon of democratic stability in a region riddled with coups and insecurity, but tension is mounting, with at least 23 killed last month during protests between opposition supporters and police. Some cite political strife for surging migration; others note that most who leave are young Senegalese men who say poverty and a lack of jobs drive them.
“There’s no freedom in Senegal,” said Papa, 29, who made it to the Canaries this month after a boat journey during which the engine failed, food ran out and fights erupted.
He said he’s seeking asylum in Spain because of Senegal’s political problems. He described police shooting at people like him who took to the streets to oppose President Macky Sall. He and others among the hundreds of Senegalese who made it to the Canaries in recent weeks blamed unemployment, a struggling economy and rising food prices on Sall’s administration.
“The salaries are not good, rice is too expensive. You need a lot of money to eat,” said Papa, who has two wives and children to feed in Senegal. Wearing a bracelet with the name of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, Papa gave only his first name, citing fears about deportation.
Since 2006, Spain has worked with Senegal to crack down on migrant boats. That year, Canaries arrivals first peaked, with 30,000-plus people — many of them Senegalese. Today, Spain’s national police and civil guard are deployed in Senegal to assist local authorities. Senegal also received more than $190 million from the EU’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa for programs aimed at addressing the root causes of migration.
But residents here say little has improved.
From May to July, about 30 boats left Saint-Louis for Europe and about 10 sank, said El Hadji Dousse Fall, of the Organization for the Fight Against Clandestine Immigration, which tries to prevent youths from crossing the sea and teaches them about legal migration pathways. Still, many have already made up their minds.
“They have a saying,” Fall said, speaking partly in the local Wolof language. “Barca or Barsakh” — Barcelona or die.
Senegalese officials won’t give data on how many people are unaccounted for trying to cross that stretch of the Atlantic. Sometimes, they refute reports of missing people — this month, Spanish rights group Walking Borders rang the alarm that 300 Senegalese were missing, and the government called the statements unfounded.
The beach burials have happened for years but skyrocketed for 2023, with about 300 bodies in the first seven months, compared with just over 100 for all of 2022, according to a local official who works closely with authorities and insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisal.
Locals say the government tries to hide the scale of the problem because it tarnishes Senegal’s reputation.
“It’s a sign of failure that undermines the government’s public policy record,” said Alioune Tine, founder of West African think tank Afrikajom Center.
During a visit to Saint-Louis, AP spoke with two survivors of attempted trips. The men departed within days of each other, from Mbour in early July. Both boats got lost and capsized at the mouth of the Saint-Louis river, where waves swell and conditions can turn volatile. One survivor saw another boat capsize minutes after his.
The men said that of about 420 people aboard the three vessels, roughly 60 were rescued.
Ibnou Diagne, 35, said the boat capsized days into the trip. He watched a piece of broken boat wood ram into the stomach of a teenage passenger, stabbing him before he fell into the sea.
But what haunts him most are memories of his longtime friend Abdourahmane, who drowned. “Everyday when I sleep, it’s Abdourahmane’s image and face that emerge in front of me,” he said.
The other survivor said he fled after the rescue — he was taken for questioning but got out of the car and hid. On condition of anonymity for fear of being detained again, he described waking at 4 a.m. to his boat being launched in the air upon hitting a giant wave.
Thrown into the water but able to swim, he anchored himself to a smaller nearby vessel and waited for rescue. Two friends who boarded with him drowned. Days later, he called their mothers to tell them their sons were dead. Without him, he said, the families would have no idea what happened to the men.
Senegal has agreed to several international accords, including The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and The Global Compact on Migration, to ensure the investigation of disappearances and arbitrary deaths, identify the dead, and inform families.
Even if a body has decomposed, the obligation remains to do everything possible to identify the person and seek support if resources are lacking, said Judith Sunderland, of Human Rights Watch.
“It’s completely unacceptable for state authorities to bury people without investigating the causes of their deaths or attempting to identify them,” she said.
Boubacar Tiane Balde, chief of the anti-smuggling regional branch in Saint-Louis, said stemming the tide of migration is challenging, with new cases daily. And smugglers, paid by migrants to get across the border, are embedded in the community.
“The biggest difficulty is first to have clear information,” Balde said. “Not everyone is willing to collaborate.”
Some say officials aren’t serious about cracking down. Many boats bribe authorities on the water, sometimes paying $1,700 to get through, said a smuggler who insisted on anonymity over fears for his safety. To stay undetected, he uses smaller boats to shuttle passengers so it appears they’re just fishing, he said, and for safety, he’s cut the number of passengers allowed to 80 from 140.
Such measures come as little comfort to those with missing relatives.
During Niang’s fourth visit to Saint-Louis to look for his nephews, he was called to the morgue. But the men weren’t there. Later, authorities reached out to their mother, Niang’s sister. They wanted her and her husband to make a photo identification. Based on a ring and his long hair, they knew the body was their son.
They still don’t know the fate of his brother. They aren’t alone in their grief, but that brings little solace.
“Every day I see people looking for relatives lost at sea,” Niang said. “Some of them conduct funerals without the bodies.”
The family will travel to Saint-Louis, then bring the body home. They’ll hold one funeral, with prayers for both brothers.
As more migrants go missing at sea, many say bodies end up on Senegal’s beaches in unmarked graves
https://arab.news/zj9j4
As more migrants go missing at sea, many say bodies end up on Senegal’s beaches in unmarked graves

China helped Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ in conflict with India, Indian Army deputy chief says

- India earlier noted no visible Chinese support for Pakistan during the four-day standoff
- Pakistani officials have also denied claims of receiving active assistance from Beijing
NEW DELHI: China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions during Pakistan’s deadly conflict with its neighbor in May, the deputy chief of India’s army said on Friday, calling for urgent upgrades to the country’s air defense systems.
The nuclear-armed rivals used missiles, drones and artillery fire during the four-day fighting — their worst in decades — triggered by an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
Pakistan has denied involvement in the April attack.
India fought two adversaries during the conflict, with Pakistan being the “front face” while China provided “all possible support,” Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh said at a defense industry event in New Delhi.
“When the DGMO (director general of military operations) level talks were going on, Pakistan ... said that we know that your such and such important vector is primed and it is ready for action ... he was getting live inputs from China,” he said.
Singh did not elaborate on how India knew about the live inputs from China.
The Chinese foreign and defense ministries, and Pakistan army’s public relations wing did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
India’s relationship with China was strained after a 2020 border clash that sparked a four-year military standoff, but tensions began to ease after the countries reached a pact to step back in October.
India had earlier said that although Pakistan is closely allied with China, there was no sign of any actual help from Beijing during the conflict.
Regarding the possibility of China providing satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence, India’s chief of defense staff had said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China or elsewhere.
Pakistani officials have previously dismissed allegations of receiving active support from China in the conflict, but have not commented specifically on whether Beijing gave any satellite and radar help during the fighting.
Beijing, which welcomed the ceasefire in May, has helped Pakistan’s struggling economy with investments and financial support since 2013.
The Chinese foreign minister also vowed support to Pakistan in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity when he met his Pakistani counterpart days after the ceasefire.
Singh said that Turkiye also provided key support to Pakistan during the fighting, equipping it with Bayraktar and “numerous other” drones, and “trained individuals.”
Ankara has strong ties with Islamabad, and had expressed solidarity with it during the clash, prompting Indians to boycott everything from Turkish coffee to holidays in the country.
Turkiye’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Former Labour MP Sultana claims she will launch new party with ex-leader Corbyn

- Sultana accuses government of being ‘active participant in genocide’ in Gaza
- Talks held with pro-Palestine Independent Alliance MPs, but Corbyn yet to confirm role in new movement
LONDON: Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has claimed she is set to start a new political party with Labour’s ex-leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after accusing the government of being “an active participant in genocide” in Gaza.
Sultana made the announcement on the social media platform X on Thursday evening, a day after Corbyn told the political TV show “Peston” on ITV that “there is a thirst for an alternative” in British politics.
In her post, Sultana claimed the Westminster political system was “broken” and that the new movement would focus on social justice in the UK and abroad.
“Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives. And across the political establishment, from (Reform leader Nigel) Farage to (Prime Minister Sir Keir) Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.
“But the truth is clear: This government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.”
She added that the choice before voters at the next general election would be between “socialism or barbarism” and claimed, in relation to the vote earlier this week on changes to benefit rules, “the government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can’t decide how much.”
Sultana continued: “Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country.”
Corbyn has yet to confirm whether he will be involved in the new party but admitted on “Peston” that he had been in discussions with the four Independent Alliance MPs elected in July 2024 on a platform of opposing the war in Gaza — Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed — about forming a party based on “peace rather than war.”
The BBC’s “Newsnight” program confirmed Sultana had held talks with Corbyn and the Independent Alliance earlier this week, but that the idea of co-leadership had not been received well by Corbyn.
Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund posted on X that a source told him Corbyn was “furious and bewildered” that Sultana made her announcement without consulting him first.
Israel denies it is committing genocide in Gaza.
Starmer has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, describing the situation as “appalling and intolerable,” but has stopped short of accusing Israel of genocide.
Alastair Campbell, the former Labour director of communications, told the BBC that the “government’s handling” of the war in Gaza was a thorn in the side of the party, affecting people’s perception of Labour’s values.
Sultana was suspended by Labour last year for rebelling against the government in a vote on child benefits.
She has been a vocal critic of her former party, including last week, when the government sought to ban the group Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized military aircraft.
Sultana posted “We are all Palestine Action” on X ahead of a vote to proscribe the group as a terrorist organization, which passed with just 26 MPs opposing the motion.
In her announcement about forming her new party, she said: “Westminster is broken, but the real crisis is deeper. Just 50 families now own more wealth than half the UK population. Poverty is growing, inequality is obscene, and the two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises.”
She continued: “We’re not an island of strangers; we’re an island that’s suffering. We need homes and lives we can actually afford, not rip-off bills we pay every month to a tiny elite bathing in cash. We need our money spent on public services, not forever wars.”
The announcement elicited mixed responses from Labour MPs.
John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor who was also suspended at the same time as Sultana, posted on X: “I am dreadfully sorry to lose Zarah from the Labour Party.
“The people running Labour at the moment need to ask themselves why a young, articulate, talented, extremely dedicated socialist feels she now has no home in the Labour Party and has to leave.”
Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent East, said she could “understand (Sultana’s) frustration”
But Neil Coyle, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, told The Times: “The hard left (is) seeking to damage Labour while the far right are on the march. As shabby as they ever were.”
French air traffic controllers’ strike disrupts flights for second day
Up to half of flights at France’s other airports, mostly in the south, were also affected
PARIS: A strike by French air traffic controllers entered its second day on Friday, leaving many passengers stranded at the start of Europe’s peak travel season.
Civil aviation agency DGAC told airlines to cancel 40 percent of flights at the three main Paris airports on Friday because of the strike, which the air traffic controllers say is over staff shortages and aging equipment.
Up to half of flights at France’s other airports, mostly in the south, were also affected, DGAC added.
“We are hostages of Paris,” said Mariano Mignola, an Italian tourist stranded in the French capital’s Orly airport with two young children.
“Today we had to go home and the first available flight is July 8. We have no flat, we can’t find a hotel, we can’t find a car, we can’t find a train, we can’t find anything,” he said. “We are in a panic, the children are scared and we don’t know what to do.”
French transport minister Philippe Tabarot called the strike unacceptable as did Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who branded it “another recreational strike by French air traffic controllers’ unions.”
On top of the cancelations, DGAC warned that passengers could be affected by delays and significant disruption.
The Airlines for Europe (A4E) lobby group said late on Thursday that 1,500 flights had been canceled over the two-day strike, affecting 300,000 passengers and causing cascading delays.
Germany in talks to buy Patriot missiles for Ukraine after US pause

- “There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap,” the spokesperson said
- Germany has sent three of the US-made systems from its military stocks to Ukraine
BERLIN: Germany is in talks on buying Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine to help it counter some of the heaviest Russian attacks since the war began in 2022, a government spokesperson said on Friday.
The US has paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine including 30 Patriot air defense missiles, sources told Reuters this week, due to low stockpiles, prompting warnings by Kyiv this would weaken its ability to defend itself.
“There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap,” the spokesperson told a news conference in Berlin, adding that one option being considered is buying the Patriot missile batteries in the United States and then sending them on to Kyiv.
“I can confirm that intensive discussions are indeed being held on this matter,” he said.
Germany has sent three of the US-made systems from its military stocks to Ukraine, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius last month launched an initiative to chase down more of them at the Ramstein group of some 50 nations.
Pistorius will travel to Washington later this month for talks with his US counterpart about his initiative as well as production capacities, said a defense ministry spokesperson.
“Of course these issues will also be on the agenda,” said the spokesperson.
The US Embassy in Berlin was not immediately available for comment.
Pistorius has floated the idea of buying Patriot systems that could be freed up to bypass long industrial delivery times and ensure they get to Ukraine quickly.
Ukraine is increasingly desperate for the systems that it relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles.
Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people, just hours after US President Donald Trump spoke to Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Germany, Ukraine’s second largest donor after the United States, has sought to take on more of a leadership role in ensuring backing for Kyiv as US support has been thrown into question under Trump.
While Europe could sustain Ukraine’s resistance without US military support, according to a senior German military official, the challenges would be immense.
Germany has provided a total of 38 billion euros ($43 billion) worth of military aid to Ukraine, including funds earmarked for the coming years, according to the defense ministry.
A Bloomberg News report on Friday said Germany is preparing a 25-billion-euro tank order to ramp up its NATO brigades. The defense ministry had no immediate comment.
Regulators warned Air India Express about delay on Airbus engine fix, forging records

- India’s aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India’s budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320
- Air India has been under intense scrutiny since Boeing Dreamliner crash, killing all but one of the 242 people onboard
NEW DELHI: India’s aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India’s budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by European Union’s aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed.
In a statement, Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook “remedial action and preventive measures.”
Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated.
The engine issue in the Air India Express’ Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about “serious violations” of pilot duty timings.
Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a “potential unsafe condition” on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found.
The agency’s directive said “this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane.”
The Indian government’s confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification “was not complied” on an engine of an Airbus A320 “within the prescribed time limit.”
“In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged,” the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness.
The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express’ VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website.
The lapse “indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control,” it added.
Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified.
It did not give dates of compliance or directly address DGCA’s comment about records being altered, but said that after the March memo it took “necessary administrative actions,” which included removing the quality manager from the person’s position and suspending the deputy continuing airworthiness manager.
The DGCA and the European safety agency did not respond to Reuters queries.
Airbus and CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and Safran, also did not respond.
The lapse was first flagged during a DGCA audit in October 2024 and the plane in question took only a few trips after it was supposed to replace the CFM engine parts, a source with direct knowledge said.
“Such issues should be fixed immediately. It’s a grave mistake. The risk increases when you are flying over sea or near restricted airpsace,” said Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at the India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.
The Indian government told parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Three of those cases involved Air India Express, and eight Air India.
The Tata Group acquired Air India from the Indian government in 2022 and the Dreamliner crash has cast a shadow on its ambitions of making it a “world class airline.”
While Air India has aggressively expanded its international flight network over the months, it still faces persistent complaints from passengers, who often take to social media to show soiled seats, broken armrests, non-operational entertainment systems and dirty cabins.