A picture shows the port of Mamoudzou and the shuttle called "barge", that connect the Grande-Terre to Petite-Terre, in the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte.
For the first time, 18 Sri Lankan migrants arrived in Mayotte on Monday and were refused entry to France, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said. They were placed in the waiting area.
The 18 migrants who arrived on a beach in Mayotte from Sri Lanka on Monday were refused entry into France and were placed in a waiting zone, Christophe Castaner said on Tuesday . “The 18 passengers were notified of a refusal of entry immediately and (were) placed in a waiting area , “ said the Minister of the Interior in the Senate on the occasion of questions to the government.
This is the first time that migrants had arrived by sea from Sri Lanka in the 101st French department, already subject to strong migratory pressure.
“Their individual file will be examined”
According to Christophe Castaner, they filed an asylum request: “I asked our services, the Ofpra to ensure that the investigation is as fast as possible” .
“Their individual file will be examined. The hearings are underway and will end very quickly, ” added the Minister. Christophe Castaner also specified that the pilot of the boat aboard which the 18 migrants had arrived in Mayotte was identified as a “smuggler” and placed in police custody.
These migrants (16 men, 2 women) are in a worrying state of health, the commander of the Mayotte gendarmerie, General Philippe Leclerc, said on Monday. They would have left the Indian continent a fortnight ago and their dhow ran aground in N’gouja, one of the most touristic southern beaches of the island, had specified Philippe Leclercq.
An unprecedented arrival in Mayotte
With 48% of foreigners within its population, Mayotte is experiencing strong immigration from the neighboring islands of the Comoros, the closest of which, Anjouan, is 70 km from its coast.
If the arrival of Sri Lankans in Mayotte is unprecedented, the island of Reunion is regularly the destination of migrants from this country. Since March 2018, 273 people from Sri Lanka have arrived in this neighboring department of the Indian Ocean.
In the Senate, Christophe Castaner reaffirmed that it was “essential that the irregular migratory pressure on Mayotte drop” .
Recalling the increase in the number of police forces on the island, he said that the number of removals had increased by 30% during the first three months of 2019.
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