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Blow for illegal aliens
18/02/2003 23:58 - (SA)
Madrid - Spain and Morocco will repatriate thousands of sub-Saharan illegal immigrants who cross over from the Moroccan coast to Spain every year, press reports said on Tuesday.
Spanish and Moroccan officials agreed to "give a new impulse" to a 1992 agreement which allows Spain to expel illegal immigrants back to Morocco. So far, Rabat had only accepted the repatriation of its own citizens.
Madrid and Rabat will seek ways to determine the nationalities of the immigrants, who usually destroy their identity documents in an attempt to avoid expulsion.
More than 16 000 Africans arrived in southern Spain or the Canary Islands last year. Around a half of them came from countries other than Morocco, including Nigeria, Mali and Sierra Leone.
Madrid and Rabat are seeking to step up cooperation after ending a 15-month diplomatic crisis, which culminated in a military standoff over the Perejil islet in July. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA
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