PALMA/BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) -More than 30 boats carrying about 600 irregular migrants have arrived in Spain’s Balearic islands since Monday, officials said, as a new migratory route from North Africa gains traction after a crackdown by authorities in other jumping off points.

Overall, irregular migration to Spain has fallen this year, but it has risen by 170% in the Balearics in the first six months to around 3,000 people, official data shows. The number of boats, mostly departing from Algeria, more than doubled.

A significant number of the arrivals are from East Africa.

Konestory, a 20-year-old South Sudanese migrant, told Reuters on Tuesday in the Mallorcan capital of Palma that he had fled from growing instability in the region.

He paid $2,000 to board a boat from Algeria, whic

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