Morocco-Algeria Border Opens Briefly as 22 Moroccans Return

The group, made up of twenty men and two women from various regions of the Kingdom, was handed over to Moroccan authorities at the Colonel Lotfi and Zouj Bghal land crossings. According to the Moroccan Association for Assistance to Migrants in Difficult Situations, this was the second operation of its kind in just a few months, following the return of sixteen people last December.

On Bladi.net : Algeria-Morocco Border: Zouj Bghal Opens for 42 Prisoners, but 500 Cases Remain Pending

The association says it is currently monitoring more than 500 cases involving Moroccan nationals in Algeria, around one hundred of whom are awaiting repatriation across the border. Although these individuals are described as migrants, the reasons for their presence in Algerian territory are not always explained, with many facing lengthy administrative and legal procedures before their release.

On Bladi.net : Morocco-Algeria Border Opens Briefly to Repatriate 52 Detained Moroccan Migrants

Algerian courts regularly hand down prison sentences exceeding ten years to young people who are arrested, while the fate of several nationals remains tragic. At the end of January, an Algerian military operation near Béchar claimed the lives of three Moroccans accused of drug trafficking, a version firmly disputed by their relatives, who describe them as simple livestock breeders or mechanics.

The repatriation of the bodies remains a major point of friction between Rabat and Algiers. Algerian authorities frequently refuse to return the remains of citizens shot at the border, as in the 2023 incident in which two Moroccans were killed by the army. The association continues to lobby the authorities to allow families to recover the bodies so they can bury them with dignity.