Migrants stuck in Mauritania after EU border pact brings crackdown

Maka Keila, 27, and Garry Ndajy, 32, work at an open-air brick workshop, on the outskirts of Nouakchott, Mauritania, February 22, 2025, amid a crackdown on irregular migration following a 2024 partnership agreement with the European Union. "I know a lot of people who go to Nouadibou (a northern port in Mauritania)," Keila said. "There are a lot of friends there, who were looking to get to Europe. They say that now everything has stopped." REUTERS/Juan Medina SEARCH "MEDINA MAURITANIA MIGRATION" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

NOUAKCHOTT, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Moktar Diallo left Mali in 2015, dreaming of reaching Europe by boat from Mauritania to Spain's Canary Islands.

A decade later, Diallo is stuck working long hours making bricks in Mauritania's coastal capital Nouakchott, and trying to dodge a police crackdown that has reduced the flow of irregular dinghies making the around 600-mile (970 km) crossing, which can take up to eight days.