Many Moroccans who arrived in Ceuta en masse two weeks ago, causing an unprecedented migration crisis, do not want to return to Morocco. On Monday, a group of these young people, as well as other Moroccans stranded in Spain since the start of the health crisis, gathered at the immigration office to apply for asylum.
Brahim Ghali, the Polisario leader admitted urgently to Spain on April 18 after contracting Covid-19, left the San Pedro de Logroño hospital on Tuesday, June 1 around 9:30 pm. Accused of torture, rape and human rights violations, he had been heard during the day by the investigating judge of Madrid, Santiago Pedraz Gomez .
The issue of unaccompanied Moroccan minors abroad is a concern for King Mohammed VI who has renewed his instructions to the various ministers in charge of the file so that a definitive solution is found.
Morocco has arrested a dozen young people who tried to cross the border into Ceuta. Since the mass entry on May 17 and 18 of thousands of Moroccan migrants into the Spanish enclave, the Moroccan security forces have been on maximum alert.
The hearing of Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario accused of torture, rape and human rights violations did indeed take place on June 1st by videoconference. He was heard by the investigating judge in Madrid, Santiago Pedraz Gomez.
The crisis between Morocco and Spain is bad news for Moroccan seasonal workers whose labor is in high demand in the Spanish fields. The government is forced to accelerate the signing of an agreement with Honduras to avoid a shortage of agricultural labor in Spain and save the summer agricultural campaign.
Nasser Bourita , Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, reacted to the statement by Pedro Sanchez, President of the Spanish Government, on the diplomatic crisis between the two countries. He reiterated that ’the bilateral crisis is not related to the migration issue.’
Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario, admitted urgently to a hospital in Logroño on April 18, will have to appear before the Spanish justice system this Tuesday, June 1. He is accused of torture, rape and human rights violations. This hearing could somewhat appease the tensions between Morocco and Spain.
More than a thousand unaccompanied Moroccan minors arrived in Ceuta between May 17 and 18, triggering an unprecedented migration crisis. Despite the care of 1,125 of them by the local administration, many are still wandering the streets of the Spanish enclave. Their families prefer them to stay in Spain rather than return to Morocco.
A few days before mid-June when the Operation Marhaba usually starts, there is great uncertainty about the opening of the Moroccan borders to allow Moroccans residing abroad (MRE) to spend their summer holidays in the kingdom. For its part, the port of Algeciras assures that it is ready for the Transit Operation, even though it doubts that it will be part of it this year.
Morocco did not include Spain on the list of participants in the 2021 edition of the African Lion military exercise, organized annually by the kingdom, in collaboration with the US military command for Africa (Africom).
Among the thousands of Moroccan migrants who arrived en masse in Ceuta at the beginning of last week, the national police counted 920 minors who were distributed in three centers in the autonomous city.