Massive Traffic Jam Hits Ceuta as Thousands of Moroccan Expats Return for Marhaba 2023

On Saturday, 45,067 Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) and 11,766 vehicles joined Ceuta from the Spanish ports, according to data provided by civil protection. Long queues were recorded at the border with Morocco, blocking the entrance to the university hospital, located near the vehicle waiting area in the Loma Colmenar district, reports La Razón.

In detail, 31,066 MREs and 7,341 vehicles left the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa for Ceuta, occupying 74 of the 88 ship rotations of the day. From Friday to Saturday, 80,311 MREs and 20,068 vehicles arrived from the six Spanish ports in the autonomous city.

Since the start of the Marhaba Operation on June 15, a total of 652,861 MREs and 157,320 vehicles have already returned to Morocco. As part of the return phase that started in Spain on July 15, 10,332 passengers and 2,965 vehicles have already been recorded. Of these, 8,350 travelers and 2,366 vehicles returned to Spain via the lines connecting Ceuta and Tangier to Algeciras and Tarifa.