Algeria transfers 60 migrants to Morocco

Algeria handed over 60 young people to Morocco Monday who had served their sentences in Algerian prisons for irregular migration, according to a statement from the Moroccan Association for Aid to Vulnerable Migrants. The operation took place via the Oujda-Maghnia border crossing.

The NGO states that 480 nationals are still incarcerated in Algeria on the same charges. The eastern neighbor's authorities also hold the remains of 6 citizens, including two women from the Oriental region who drowned while attempting to reach the other side of the Mediterranean. Algeria had previously handed over 22 Moroccan citizens in September.

For the record, the Moroccan League for Human Rights, which is close to the Istiqlal Party, had urged nationals to avoid traveling to Algeria, arguing that «from a human rights perspective, Algeria is not a safe country». Indeed, Algerian authorities regularly announce the arrest of Moroccan nationals for «espionage», «irregular migration», or «human trafficking».