Morocco Prioritizes Diaspora at Ceuta Border, Delays Local Crossings

On Friday morning, the Moroccan authorities deliberately delayed the access of Sebta residents to the border, giving absolute priority to the approximately 1,600 MRE vehicles that arrived as part of the Marhaba Operation, according to Ceuta Ahora. In the afternoon, the situation was worse. Residents of the autonomous city spent more than five hours in the waiting area.

Seeing the line of MRE vehicles moving faster, the residents of Sebta blocked access to the border around 1 a.m. as a sign of protest. Passengers without vehicles experienced the same situation. On Friday afternoon, they were subjected to a thorough check, resulting in long queues, even exceeding the Spanish access at Tarajal.

Passengers without vehicles spent at best more than an hour and a half at the border before entering Morocco. Despite the steps taken by the government delegation in the afternoon, it was necessary to wait for the passage of the last MRE vehicle, after 4 a.m., for Morocco to open more access lanes to the border to facilitate the transit of Sebta residents.