Migrant Crisis Escalates: Morocco Accuses Algeria of Weaponizing Sub-Saharan Exodus

Several incidents have been reported. Videos shared online have shown migrants chasing citizens on the beach of Saïdia. Frictions have also been reported in the Oulfa district of Casablanca, as well as in the city of Tétouan. Associative actors in Tétouan have confirmed that the local authorities of several neighborhoods have received instructions to monitor the movements of migrants, particularly those in transit towards the border area of Fnideq.

Several officials point the finger at the Algerian authorities, who are suspected of orchestrating these population movements. The reasons given are to unload the "migratory burden" and to use migrants as a means of pressure in a political context.

A more serious allegation, attributed to "well-informed Algerian circles", suggests that these transfers of migrants to the Moroccan border would be made in exchange for financial compensation paid to the migrants before their expulsion to Morocco.