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The main border crossing between Morocco and Algeria, Zouj Beghal, was exceptionally reopened on Wednesday for the repatriation of Moroccan migrants and craftsmen previously detained by Algerian authorities.
«38 Moroccan men were deported by the Algerian authorities after completing administrative, judicial, and consular procedures in neighboring Algeria», well-informed sources confirmed to Yabiladi on Friday.
Hassan Omari, head of the local NGO «Association for Assisting Migrants in Difficult Situations» in Oujda, corroborated this information. He told Yabiladi that the repatriated citizens «were arrested because their status was illegal», including those who completed their sentences, were acquitted, or served sentences between six months and a year.
«We have 112 files of Moroccan detainees in Algeria, and estimates based on deportees' testimonies suggest the number could be between 400 and 500», Omari added, emphasizing his association's efforts «to compile another list of detainees and secure their repatriation to Morocco».
Assisting Moroccans detained in Algeria
The association previously sent an open letter to Algerian officials, including Interior Minister Ibrahim Merad and Justice Minister Abderrachid Tabbi, advocating for a general amnesty for imprisoned Moroccan migrants and requesting accelerated repatriation with ease of procedures.
Furthermore, the association criticized the Moroccan migrants' prison conditions and urged Algerian authorities to publish a list of detainees for family identification and support. It also asked the Algerian authorities to ensure medical care and legal assistance access for detainees by allowing the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit them, provide humanitarian, social, and medical aid.
The Oujda-based NGO also contacted the ICRC representation in Tunisia and the Arab Lawyers Union, seeking their intervention with Algerian authorities to facilitate the detained Moroccans' return.
It's important to note that most of the over 800 Moroccan migrants repatriated from Algeria in the past two years crossed through the Zouj Beghal border, open only for these exceptional operations. Others returned on flights from Tunisia, funded by their families.
