Moroccan Diaspora Arrivals Surge 45% in Ceuta for Annual Summer Return

This increase in the number of travelers as part of the Transit Operation should be more significant in the coming days, due to the Eid al-Adha holiday scheduled for July 10 in Morocco. On Saturday, a total of 2,504 vehicles, including 1,748 belonging to MREs, crossed the Tarajal border to enter Morocco. Travelers spent more than seven hours in the waiting area set up half a kilometer from the fence.

The opposition parties criticized the "chaos" recorded in this area, which does not have any cafes or restaurants. To speed up the transit of MREs, the government delegation authorized the opening of four of the five access lanes to the Ceuta border from Morocco on Saturday. According to it, the slowdown in traffic is due to the "strict" documentary and health checks carried out by the Moroccan and Spanish customs authorities.

The Ceuta authorities plan to "urgently open new waiting areas" to "meet the challenges" of the Marhaba Operation. In the meantime, the weary MREs have demonstrated to express their frustration. The national police had to intervene to restore order.