Algerian authorities deported 16 Moroccans on Tuesday, including a woman and a minor, to the Moroccan-Algerian border crossing of Zouj Bghal, located about 15 kilometers from the city of Oujda, according to the Moroccan Association for the Assistance of Migrants in Difficult Situations.
This marks the second group deported in a week. Last Thursday, another 42 Moroccans were released and returned from Algeria. Most of the deported individuals come from Moroccan cities like Oujda, Berkane, Taounate, Fez, and Meknes.
The Moroccan Association for the Assistance of Migrants in Difficult Situations is closely following these cases.
The group says it is monitoring more than 500 files related to missing, detained, or deported Moroccans, with 138 currently awaiting deportation.
The deported Moroccans shared their experiences with the association, detailing conditions during detention, court proceedings, and the deportation process.
Meanwhile, other Moroccans remain in Algerian prisons and detention centers under administrative custody as authorities complete deportation procedures.
The association also reports receiving daily files on young Moroccans sentenced to over ten years in prison. They plan to contact Algerian officials regarding these cases, especially on the occasion of the International Migrants Day.
In addition to helping deported citizens, the association continues to press for information on missing Moroccans, including those from Algerian families searching for lost relatives.
They have contacted the General Delegation for Prison Administration, the Moroccan National Human Rights Council, and the Moroccan Prison Observatory multiple times but have yet to receive responses.
They are also demanding that Algerian authorities return several bodies of Moroccan citizens.
In August 2024, a much larger repatriation saw 60 Moroccans, in three groups of 20, returned through Zouj Bghal after serving sentences in Algerian prisons. Some had chronic health problems, and hundreds more remained in administrative detention awaiting deportation.
And in another instance that same year, authorities sent 20 Moroccan detainees back through Zouj Bghal in three batches; combined with other releases over two days, around 80 Moroccans were returned.
The association urges cooperation between Moroccan and Algerian authorities to ensure transparency and humane treatment of migrants.
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