Morocco Expels Sub-Saharan Migrants Near Spanish Border, Sparking Outcry

In videos, the sub-Saharan migrants of Tangier denounce the Moroccan authorities who not only refuse to issue them residence permits, but also arrest and expel them from the city in dilapidated buses. They deplore this "unacceptable behavior" of the Moroccan authorities and say they now live "in fear" and stress, according to El Español.

À lire : Morocco Expels Over 1,300 Sub-Saharan Migrants from Tangier in Mass Relocation

These expulsions, which began four months ago, have intensified in recent weeks after Spain declared its support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara, say some migrants and NGO officials. "Nearly 800 migrants, regardless of gender, with or without residence permits, employed or not, have been detained and then expelled since the beginning of this year," reveals the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).

À lire : article 39775

In a video recorded at the end of March and posted on social media by a migrant, a group of young Sub-Saharans is seen on board one of the buses used to transfer them to the south of the country, far from the borders with Spain. "We were arrested without reason by the Tangier authorities. We are asking for a residence permit and they refuse it to us. [...] They treat us like animals, without any respect, without any consideration," explains the young man in the video, denouncing "all the injustices" suffered.

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The AMDH calls on the Tangier authorities to stop these "illegal and unfair arrests" of migrants who are integrated into the city where they live and work. These expulsions are justified by law 02-03 which gives the authorities the right to prohibit or compel those who are not in a regular situation to reside in certain regions, the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior had explained in 2018 after the expulsions of migrants to their countries of origin such as Mali, Senegal, Guinea Conakry and Côte d’Ivoire.