Morocco Blocks French Activist from Entering Western Sahara City

Security sources quoted by the Goud website indicate that the French national was in Laâyoune and was going to Smara, more than 200 km further east, to participate in a meeting with members close to the Polisario independence movement.

According to the electronic media, a Chinese national who works as a journalist and who was in his company was also prevented from going to Smara.

It is quite common for the Moroccan authorities to expel foreigners, including lawyers, activists, or journalists and deputies, whom they consider "pro-separatist." They are generally accused of not having notified the local authorities of their presence on the spot.