Sudanese Migrants Face Crackdown in Moroccan Border City, Advocates Say

There would be around 300 Sudanese migrants wandering in the "stopover" city of Oujda, where the expelled from Melilla and Ceuta are concentrated, and the survivors of the "Libyan hell", according to Infomigrant.

To cope with the unprecedented influx this summer, the Moroccan authorities are using force in order to drive them out of the city, according to the damning testimonies posted on social media.

"The situation is so difficult, we are beaten, followed and imprisoned by the police. We don’t feel safe here," said a Sudanese migrant in a video published by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).

According to Omar Naji, a member of the AMDH who has collected several testimonies, these Sudanese exiles are "hunted by the police" in the streets of Oujda. "They suffer daily arbitrary arrests without any justification and the violation of their rights," the activist said.

At night, the security forces evict them from their living place, the cardboard pieces hastily installed in the evening in the gardens or parking lots. "They have nowhere to go, but the police don’t want them to settle in Oujda," says Largou Boubker, president of the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (OMDH).

However, international and local organizations say they are powerless and overwhelmed by the situation. Taking care of these new arrivals is a challenge. The UNHCR provides no humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers except for so-called vulnerable persons (women, children, disabled persons).