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Morocco: More Than 12,000 Illegal Migrants Held in 2021

A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)
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Morocco: More Than 12,000 Illegal Migrants Held in 2021

A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant after his arrival at a beach in the Ceuta enclave, in the north of Morocco, on Sunday (EPA)

Moroccan police said Monday they had arrested more than 12,000 people trying to leave the country illegally since the start of the year and had also dismantled 150 smuggling networks.

In a statement carried by the official MAP agency, the Directorate General of National Security said it had detained "415 organizers and mediators and 12,231 candidates for illegal immigration" and dismantled "150 criminal networks active in organizing illegal immigration".

Mainland Spain is only about 20 kilometers from Morocco, making it a target for those fleeing poverty or conflicts elsewhere in Africa or even further afield.

Officers also seized "752 forged travel documents, 67 inflatable boats and 47 engines, and 65 vehicles", AFP quoted MAP as saying.

The year's figures relate only to police operations, and do not include naval interceptions of migrants headed to Spain.

A military source said the Moroccan coastguard aided around 330 migrants between November 12 and 15 in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

At the end of September, the UN's International Organization for Migration said 2021 had been "the deadliest year on the migratory route to Spain", with more than 1,000 fatalities.

Other North African countries, Tunisia and Libya, are also major migrant departure points to Europe.

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After Debate, Iraqi Armed Factions Refuse to Disband

Members of the al-Nujaba movement during a military parade. (Al-Nujaba)
Members of the al-Nujaba movement during a military parade. (Al-Nujaba)
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After Debate, Iraqi Armed Factions Refuse to Disband

Members of the al-Nujaba movement during a military parade. (Al-Nujaba)
Members of the al-Nujaba movement during a military parade. (Al-Nujaba)

Undersecretary of the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hisham al-Alawi stressed on Sunday that the dismantling and disarmament of armed factions was an internal Iraqi affair.

He added: “Iraq is interested in amicably resolving problems with regional countries. Regional stability is necessary for development.”

On the factions, he said it was necessary to make a distinction between the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and other factions that are not aligned to it.

The PMF, he explained, is an integral part of Iraq’s security and military institutions.

“Neutralizing the factions that operate outside the state is an Iraqi affair. Iraq is concerned with neutralizing them when it comes to their external actions,” he remarked.

He made his remarks days after Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Asharq Al-Awsat that the possession of weapons outside the control of the state was “unacceptable”.

He said the government was “trying to convince the armed factions” to lay down their arms. This has cast doubt in the country over its actual ability to handle the issue given the persistent internal disputes, especially between Shiite forces.

Meanwhile, the Al-Nujaba and Saraya Awliya al-Dam factions announced that they were suspending their operations against Israel as the ceasefire in Gaza took effect.

However, al-Nujaba politburo head Ali al-Assadi said the “weapons of the resistance were legitimate” and that his movement has not been asked to lay down its arms.

This marks the first statement in over two months over the possession of weapons by a faction of the “Resistance Axis” that is allied with Iran.

Al-Assadi said on Saturday that the “Iraqi resistance is ready to support the military operations should Israel resume its attacks on Gaza.”

This means that all the statements and debates about the weapons have been effectively dismissed by the factions.

The government has not called on the al-Nujaba to lay down its weapons or to disband, al-Assadi continued.

“The foreign minister’s comments about the issue are unrealistic and all politicians know that were it not for the resistance, they wouldn’t be in their positions,” he stressed.

On Higher Shiite Authority Ali al-Sistani's statements two months ago on the need to limit the possession of arms to the state, al-Assadi said: “He was not referring to the resistance factions.”

He added, however, that the factions “are ready to lay down their arms if Sistani directly and openly says so.”