Morocco expels three Spaniards from Laayoune

Moroccan authorities expelled three Spanish citizens from Laayoune on Saturday, March 29, according to Iberian media reports. Among them was a former member of the Parliament of the autonomous region of Aragon, affiliated with the United Left, as well as a journalist. All three were forced to return on the same plane that had brought them to the capital of the Saharan provinces.

Like previous expulsions ordered by Moroccan authorities in Laayoune or Dakhla, the three Spaniards intended to «gather information on the human rights situation in Western Sahara». This prohibition comes as the UN Security Council is set to examine the Western Sahara issue in the coming days.

This week, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares responded to an oral question from a Basque deputy by simply stating that his ministry provides consular assistance to Spaniards abroad. However, he did not specify whether his department had protested to Moroccan authorities over the repeated expulsions of Spanish nationals from the Sahara, as the parliamentarian had requested.

On March 15, Morocco had already expelled three Spanish jurists.