Moroccan Expats Face 10-Hour Border Delays in Mass Summer Return

Endless lines of vehicles are observed at the Beni Ansar border post in these last days of August, coinciding with the return of MREs from Morocco to their countries of residence as part of the Marhaba Operation. Traffic is blocked at this border crossing between Nador and Melilla, forcing MREs, as well as residents of the autonomous city returning from a weekend in Morocco, to wait more than ten hours before crossing the border.

The MREs have expressed their discontent with this situation, calling on the competent authorities to urgently find a solution to this recurring problem. The congestion of the Beni Ansar border post is, according to the authorities, mainly due to the return of a large number of Moroccans from the diaspora during the month of August, unlike previous years.

"The Moroccan authorities proposed to the Melilla government authorities to open the Farkhana border post exceptionally during the summer period to relieve the pressure on the Beni Ansar post, or at least to reserve the Farkhana post for residents of the city of Melilla, but the proposal was rejected, leaving the situation as it is," explained an official to Hespress.

He also assured that the Beni Ansar authorities are doing what they can to streamline traffic at the border post, indicating that four lanes have been reserved for MREs to facilitate their return to European countries and one lane for Melilla residents. Despite these measures, "the congestion situation persists due to the large number of vehicles, especially on weekends: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays," he lamented.