Morocco Rebuffs EU Request to Re-Admit Third-Country Migrants

Migrants are seen in a military camp where they are staying after reaching Spain's Canary Islands, in Las Palmas, Spain, November 20, 2020. (Reuters)
Migrants are seen in a military camp where they are staying after reaching Spain's Canary Islands, in Las Palmas, Spain, November 20, 2020. (Reuters)
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Morocco Rebuffs EU Request to Re-Admit Third-Country Migrants

Migrants are seen in a military camp where they are staying after reaching Spain's Canary Islands, in Las Palmas, Spain, November 20, 2020. (Reuters)
Migrants are seen in a military camp where they are staying after reaching Spain's Canary Islands, in Las Palmas, Spain, November 20, 2020. (Reuters)

Morocco has rebuffed a European Union request to take back third-party nationals who reach Europe from the North African kingdom, its interior ministry said on Tuesday.

EU migration commissioner Yiva Johansson visited Rabat this month to seek a readmission agreement allowing the 27-nation bloc to return migrants to Morocco in the face of a surge in arrivals to Spain’s Canary Islands.

The request was rejected, the Moroccan ministry said. “Morocco is not into the logic of subcontracting and insists that each country accepts its responsibility towards its nationals,” Moroccan migration and border control chief at the Interior Ministry Khalid Zerouali said by email.

Morocco readmits an average of 15,000 of its own citizens who are sent home by the EU every year. It also agreed in 1992 to accept third-party nationals from the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, providing it is within 24 hours.

Morocco has stopped 32,000 people from crossing into Europe - located as close as 14 km (9 miles) away across the Strait of Gibraltar - this year, Zerouali said. That compares to 74,000 attempts last year.

Tighter Moroccan patrols along the northern coast and the effect of COVID-19 border closures have pushed trafficking networks to shift their routes towards the Canary Islands, 1,400 km (870 miles) off the African coast, Zerouali said.

The number of migrants illegally reaching the Canary Islands this year - 20,000 - was 10 times larger than last year, according to Spanish authorities. Johansson said half those arrivals were thought to have come from Morocco.



What’s Behind the UNIFIL Attacks?

FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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What’s Behind the UNIFIL Attacks?

FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
FILED - 26 August 2023, Lebanon, Kfrachouba: UN peacekeeping troops secure the Lebanese border side with Israel at the outskirts of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarchouba. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

Efforts to restore state authority across Lebanon and enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1701 - which mandates a zone free of unauthorized weapons south of the Litani River - have been met with fresh hostilities targeting UN peacekeepers in the country’s southern border areas.

In recent days, attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have resurfaced, echoing tactics previously used by Hezbollah to send political messages.

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday in the southern town of Bint Jbeil, where local residents reportedly blocked a UNIFIL patrol from entering without a Lebanese army escort.

On Friday, two young men in the town of Tayr Debba obstructed an armored UNIFIL convoy, forcing it to withdraw. A widely circulated video showed one of the men stating: “They’re not allowed to enter without the Lebanese army.”

Sources at the Presidential Palace told Asharq Al-Awsat that President Joseph Aoun raised the issue during a recent meeting with UNIFIL Commander Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro.

The president underscored the need for close coordination between UNIFIL and the Lebanese army to avoid friction with residents. The army, the sources added, is actively addressing such incidents to prevent escalation.

Government officials condemned the attacks as “unacceptable,” recalling Aoun’s firm stance two months ago when UNIFIL forces were assaulted near Beirut airport. At the time, Aoun described such acts as “reprehensible and condemned.”

Investigations into the Beirut airport incident led to the arrest of 25 individuals, of whom 19 were later released, while six remain under military court jurisdiction.

“Any grievances should be relayed to the army, which is deployed in these areas,” a senior source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The source warned that repeated disruptions could strain the vital relationship between peacekeepers and the local community. “Residents benefit from UNIFIL not only in terms of security, but also through social and humanitarian services,” the source added.

Political undertones are also suspected. Despite unified pledges from Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to uphold Resolution 1701 and stabilize the south, the nature of the attacks suggests a deliberate attempt to undermine these efforts.

“It’s puzzling,” the source said. “Clearly, a certain party is working to disrupt the relationship with UNIFIL - it’s as if someone is singing a different tune.”

Asked whether such incidents could hinder UNIFIL’s operations, the source responded: “The peacekeepers know these acts are not state-sanctioned. The Lebanese government is dealing with them. But if they continue, participating countries might reconsider their involvement.”

Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), squarely blamed Hezbollah for orchestrating the confrontations.

“Hezbollah has long used civilians to harass UNIFIL as a form of messaging,” Kahwaji told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s a tactic to assert dominance, especially now that Lebanese leaders are signaling a shift toward disarming the group. These are Hezbollah’s reminders that it still controls the ground.”

“No one in these villages acts without Hezbollah’s directives,” he added, dismissing claims of spontaneous civilian protests as a cover.

Kahwaji warned that unless the government acts swiftly to detain perpetrators and prevent further escalation, the attacks may intensify and even target the Lebanese army, which is expanding its presence in the south.

UNIFIL deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel, responding to Friday’s incident, reaffirmed that the peacekeeping force is operating in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces to support the Lebanese government’s implementation of Resolution 1701 during this critical period.