The Kingdom of Morocco respects its commitments vis-à-vis Spain to manage the migration issue, by proceeding to the mass arrest of migrants on its soil. However, the Moroccan authorities are accused of taking actions aimed at “making life difficult” for these candidates for illegal emigration.
This is a strong signal sent to migrants who used to transit through Morocco to reach Spain through the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The Cherifian kingdom, which has concluded agreements with the Iberian kingdom, has carried out numerous arrests of migrants. Rabat is committedé to prevent migrants from reaching Spain which, in return, has recognized the Moroccan character of Western Sahara.
This Saturday, April 16, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) denounced these mass arrests of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco, not far from the borders of Ceuta and Melilla. “Since the resumption of relations between Morocco and Spain, the repressive device once morest sub-Saharan migrants has become widespread in different cities, with mass arrests and transfers to different regions,” the organization lamented.
The Nador section of the AMDH to EFE evokes forced displacements of migrants organized by the Moroccan security forces with a view to “driving them away from the borders close to Spain” in accordance with the agreements concluded between the two kingdoms. According to the association, the migrants arrested in Nador, not far from Melilla, were taken to Beni Mellal (Centre), while those arrested in Tangier, and who intended to reach Ceuta, were directed to the border with Algeria in view of “making life difficult”.
A situation that comes at a time when Morocco and Spain have turned the page on the diplomatic crisis born of the admission of the head of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, to a Spanish hospital structure, for health reasons. The Western Sahara leader had traveled under a “false Algerian identity”. This had angered Rabat which, to punish Madrid, had allowed free access to migrants who, by the thousands, stormed Ceuta and Melilla.
However, the recent agreements concluded between Morocco and Spain quickly changed the situation. Especially with the visit of the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchez, in the Cherifian kingdom, a few days ago. Moreover, this visit allowed the resumption of maritime links between the two countries, suspended since 2020.
