Repatration almost complete
2005-10-18 15:17
Rabat/Madrid - Morocco has repatriated 129 Cameroonian illegal immigrants from Guelmine in the south of the country, nearly completing the expulsion of thousands of migrants arrested while attempting to reach the Spanish outposts of Ceuta and Melilla, news reports said on Tuesday.
The 129 immigrants flown back on Monday brought the total expelled from Guelmine to nearly 1 000. They included citizens of Cameroon, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal and Mali, who were identified with the help of diplomats from their countries.
Morocco has also repatriated 1 600 Senegalese and Malians from Oujda. Another group of 206 migrants, to be identified in Bouizakarne in Guelmine province, included 17 Indians and nine Bangladeshis in addition to Africans, according to the national news agency MAP.
Spain increased pressure on Morocco to stem the tide of illegals after thousands attempted to storm Ceuta and Melilla in recent months, bringing Spanish reception structures to the verge of collapse.
Combing the desert for immigrants
Spanish reports said the Western Saharawi independence movement Polisario and United Nations peacekeepers were combing the desert for immigrants possibly abandoned there by Morocco.
Polisario says it has given shelter to dozens such migrants, but Morocco accuses the independence movement of spreading such reports to tarnish the image of the Alawite kingdom, which annexed Western Sahara in 1975. A UN mission has been in the region since the 1991 ceasefire.
Moroccan officials said the repatriated immigrants left voluntarily, but some expressed anger towards Spain and Morocco when boarding a plane in Guelmine.
The Spanish daily El Pais said Cameroonian nationals had called Spain "racist" for refusing them entry and Morocco "murderer". Some accused Moroccan police of taking their money and mobile phones.
El Pais reported earlier that Morocco was considering establishing a camp near Melilla for about 100 immigrants who could not be repatriated. Morocco has not confirmed the report. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA