Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Saturday implored young people not to attempt the perilous Atlantic route to Europe, days after scores of would-be migrants perished when their boat capsized off Mauritania.
Nearly 90 migrants bound for Europe died after their boat overturned earlier this week, with dozens reported missing in the latest tragedy to occur in the notoriously dangerous crossing off West Africa.
“Yet another shipwreck occurred off our coast, and while we await the exact figures, it is thought to have cost the lives of many young people,” Sonko said during a speech at Gaston Berger University in the northern city of Saint-Louis, broadcast on his official Facebook page.
“It’s a shame, it’s deplorable. I’d like to make another appeal to young people: your solution does not lie in dug-out canoes,” he added, speaking in front of hundreds of young people.
