The July 2001 agreement ordering to close the Jerada mine has promised to boost the city’s development rate. Sixteen years later, this objective has not been obtained yet. To escape precariousness, unemployed young people die every year trying to extract coal from the ground under difficult conditions. This time the death of two brothers has led to a social unrest in the region, which is witnessing its own Hirak popular movement.
Spanish security officials have been worried about the frequent attempts of migrants trying to break through Melilla and Ceuta. Requesting anonymity, they believe that Morocco «has taken the pressure off» with regard to migrants’ flow indicating that «they ignore the reasons behind the anger» of the Moroccan authorities.